MARAWI City–The Maute Group on Sunday declined to release hostaged Roman Catholic priest Fr. Teresito “Chito” Soganub but freed five hostages, including a two-year old girl during the 10-hour humanitarian ceasefire that government declared. It was reciprocated by the Maute Group on Eid’l Fitr, the end of the month-long Ramadan.
Freed by Maute Group leader Abdullah Maute to an eight-member team led by an emissary of the Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (GPH-MILF) Peace Corridor were Lando Albasite, 47; Moen Albasite, 27; Joana Albasite, 2; Jane Palacio, 22; and Joy Upong, 20.
The team included four Muslim religious leaders who dialogued with the Maute Group for some 90 minutes, the emissary said.
The Marawi crisis entered Day 34 on Sunday.
The emissary, a prominent Maranao whose name has been withheld by the GPH-MILF Peace Corridor for security considerations, was the same person who negotiated with the Maute Group to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire on June 4. The four-hour “humanitarian pause” then led to the rescue of at least 134 residents.
The emissary said late Sunday night that Maute had set a condition for the release of the priest but agreed to free some hostages who were located nearest to their meeting place. The five happened to be the nearest.
The emissary said the condition set by Maute for the release of Fr. Soganub as well as the results of the dialogue with the religious leaders have been relayed to Assistant Secretary Dickson Hermoso of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the government’s focal person in the GPH-MILF Peace Corridor. Hermososaid he had relayed the information to their chair, Irene Santiago.
Santiago said these matters would be discussed with Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser on the peace process.
President Duterte is hosting an Eid’l Fitr dinner on today in Malacanang for the peace implementing panels of the MILF, MNLF and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
The release of the hostages was first learned from Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
Asked to clarify his use of “hostages” in his text message, Galvez replied that they were, indeed, hostages “because they were held by the Maute and Maute turned them over to the negotiators.”
MindaNews verified with the emissary on the status of the five rescued and he confirmed they were hostages and that they were handed over to them because Maute had declined to release the Catholic priest.
“What we have been getting are trapped civilians,” Galvez said, adding that “trapped civilians” are those who were “able to hide and flee and were never under the custody of the Maute.” He said 45 civilians were rescued on Saturday.
Galvez said they extended the 6 am to 2 pm “humanitarian pause” for four more hours or until 6 pm for those already inside the conflict zone but the emissary’s team “returned at 4 pm with five hostages and a cadaver of an Imam, so we lifted the humanitarian pause at 4 pm.”
The Imam was identified as Hassan B. Ali. The emissary said the Imam passed away apparently due to illness several days ago.
The government on Saturday night declared an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” from 6 am to 2 pm Sunday in deference to Eid’l Fitr, the end of the month-long Ramadan.
But a series of delays hampered the mission that was expected to have rescued the remaining 300 to 500 residents trapped in the conflict zone since clashes started there on May 23. (carolyn o. arguillas of mindanews)
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