AFP says father of Maute could have answered questions on Marawi rebellion

August 28, 2017

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is "saddened" by the death of Cayamora, the father of the Maute brothers, as he could have answered "a lot of things" about the Marawi attack.

“Well we were saddened for his death because he supposed to answer a lot of things to give justice for the victims of violence brought by terrorist in Marawi,” AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said Monday.

“This is an unfortunate incident for his family; but more so to the victims of terrorism in Marawi and their relatives who are awaiting justice and expecting that Mr. Cayamora would answer/atone for his involvement in the Marawi rebellion,” he added.

Cayamora,64, was declared dead on arrival he was brought to the Taguig Pateros Hospital Sunday afternoon. He was complaining of difficulty in breathing and body weakness, a police report said.

He and three others were arrested on June 6 in Toril, Davao. His wife was also arrested close to two weeks later. They were brought to Manila where he was charged with rebellion.

In a television interview, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesman, said the death of Cayamora may cause “serious development” in the ongoing battle in Marawi City.

“Well we expect perhaps that immediately after the information, once it gets to the (Maute) brothers inside Marawi who are still fighting, this may entice them to be more brazen, much more bolder because all the facts may not be clear to them and it may push them to take more drastic action in the fight that is currently ongoing,” Padilla said.

“A death of a person is unfortunate as it is not a strong gain but instead a serious development in this battle that is on-going in Marawi. We expect that the interpretation of the family would still be disadvantageous to the government because at any time they will always expect that they government did something here,” he added.

Padilla said the terrorist may also use the death of Cayamora as their propaganda.

“But as you may well all know, the patriarch was sick from the very beginning even the time of his arrest and as they pointed out he must have been on the way to a hospital facility in Davao on the time of his arrest, seeking treatment for his many illness that he has been suffering for quite something,” Padilla said.

“This is not going to be a surprise for the (Maute) brothers because they know that their father is sick but they will use every bit of propaganda from this incident just to push their own cause,” he added. Robina Asido/DMS