(Eagle News) — A group of eight religious people was among those who tried to negotiate recently with Abdullah Maute, one the Maute brothers who led the attack on Marawi City, so more of their hostages can be released and more of the civilians trapped in the city can be rescued.
This was according to government peace panel assistant secretary Dickson Hermoso of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Hermoso did not identify the Muslim religious people who talked with Abdullah Maute, but said that the emissaries were trying to secure the release of more hostages held by the Maute group.
“The emissaries were composed of eight religious people,” Hermoso said.
“Ang kanilang mission is that when they get inside is to request the Maute to release the hostages,” he said.
The emissaries were also said to be willing to be the bridge in case members of the Maute group would want to surrender to the government.
Heated argument during talks
But Hermoso said a heated argument ensued during the talks because of differences in opinion since the brand of Islam of the Maute group was different.
“Nagkaroon ng argumentong mainitan, because iba ang brand ng Islam nila. (They had a heated argument because their brand of Islam was different),” he said.
He said that the emissaries wanted an end to the fighting so that life in Marawi City could go back to normal.
Hermoso said he could not give much more details about the talks that the emissaries had with Abdullah Maute, but hoped that there would once again be “an operational pause” so that the emissaries could go back and talk to him again.
He said there was an “adverse reaction” on the part of the Maute group during the talks with the religious emissaries, but did not elaborate.
“Sana lumambot para makuha ang mga trapped civilians (Hope they soften so that we could get more trapped civilians),” he said referring to the Maute’s position.
Hermoso did not mention if the recent talk with Abdullah Maute happened during the eight-hour humanitarian pause on Sunday, June 25.
Temporary ceasefire “generally peaceful”
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella described the temporary ceasefire between government troops and Maute militants as “generally peaceful” which resulted in the successful recovery of civilians.
The Philippine military implemented the ceasefire from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, to allow Muslims to observe the Eid’l Fitr or the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan which they considered holy.
As of 7 p.m. Sunday, Abella said government troops have rescued 1,702 civilians, killed 290 terrorists and recovered 347 firearms from the members of the Maute group.
At least 27 civilians and 70 soldiers have been killed by the terrorists, the Palace official added.
There are still about 100 hostages being held by the Maute group. The civilians, on the other hand, who are still trapped in the city are believed to be between 500 to 1,000, according to estimates from local officials.
Hindrances to clearing operations
Abella said among the challenges of the military in dealing with the Maute terror group was the continuous use of snipers, improvised explosive devices, and rocket-propelled grenade from remaining vantage positions.
The use of combustible materials and other incendiary devices as well as use of humans as shields were also among the hindrances to the military clearing operations.
Abella said Armed Forces Chief of Staff Eduardo Año reiterated military’s preparedness to embark on other key tasks such as rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi.
“It has prepared the Combat Engineering Brigades from the Army and the Navy for immediate deployment as soon as the clearing operations are completed,” Abella said.
“Task Force Ranao that has been activated is in full swing in ensuring that efforts to save lives of innocent non-combatant civilians remain a primary specific task to be complied with,” he added.