MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice has filed rebellion charges against 11 persons, including a former mayor of Marawi City and the mother of the Maute brothers for their alleged involvement in the violence that has gripped the Lanao del Sur capital for more than three weeks now.
At the same time, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II reiterated a request for Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to allow all cases related to the Marawi crisis to be heard in Taguig City instead of Cagayan de Oro City.
Charged with rebellion are:
- Former Marawi mayor Fahad Salic, alias “Pre”
- Ominta Romato Maute, alias “Farhana”
- Sumaya Bangkit Masakal
- Radiea Tugosa Asire
- Mariam Ibnu Abubakar
- Zafeerah Rosales Musa
- Nahreen Macaraya Abdul
- Nora Moctar Limgas
- Mardiyya Haji Ali
- Sumayya Lawi Ali
- Noronisa Haji Camal
The information filed with the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Oriental 10th Judicial Region in Cagayan de Oro accused them of either conspiring with members of the Maute group, “purportedly affiliated with ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a known international terror group),” or providing funds and other support for the extremists who have “risen publicly and taken arms to attain the purpose of removing from allegiance to the Government of the Philippines or its laws thereof, the City of Marawi, thereby depriving the President of the Republic the exercise of its powers or prerogatives in said city …”
Salic, the former Marawi mayor who was arrested in Misamis Oriental Wednesday last week, allegedly possessed four 203 grenades, an M16 assault rifle and ammunition.
The Maute matriarch and the other accused, who were captured last Friday in Masiu town, Lanao del Sur, were alleged in possession of an M14 rifle, seven M14 magazine assemblies, ammunition, a rifle scope, two rifle grenades, two improvised rocket-propelled grenades, and two smoke grenades.
These, the DOJ alleged, were used to “create and spread chaos, disorder, terror, and fear so as to facilitate the accomplishment” of the Maute group’s aim of establishing a “wilayat” or Islamic state in Marawi.
Aside from the Maute matriarch, authorities have also captured the clan patriarch, Cayamora, was also captured in Davao City with three relatives Tuesday last week. He has been transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
In his letter to Sereno reiterating the request for a transfer of venue, Aguirre noted that the Taguig trial court and the Special Intensive Care Area of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa “are only 400 meters away from each other” and would thus require “lesser security concerns when the accused in the cases to be filed will be moved before and after the trial.”
“The DOJ anchors its request on the safety and security of everyone who will be involved in the prosecution of the cases to be filed,” Aguirre said.
To back up his request, Aguirra also sent Sereno a copy of a resolution from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines chapter in Misamis Oriental opposing the holding of trials related to the Marawi crisis in Cagayan de Oro.