MANILA, Philippines – At least four members of the Maute Group pretended to be evacuees and mingled with displaced Marawi residents who sought shelter in Brgy. Maria Cristina, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
Barangay Chairman Noli Laurete said village officials found out that the four, who were identified with their aliases “Alnor,” “Commander Cleft,” “Bao,” and “Zacaria Romato,” were Maute rebels after confirming that they were the same persons in the photos that were disseminated to local officials by authorities last Saturday.
Alias Commander Cleft and Zacaria Romato are already in the custody of authorities, while the two other rebels were able to escape and are now being tracked down by the police and the military.
Before they learned that the four were Maute members, Laurete approached Alnor, who looked anxious while he was carrying his child.
“May nakita kaming apat na nakapasok dito. ‘Yong isa, kinausap ko pa. Sinaway ko pa dahil laging lumalabas. Pero sabi n’ya may bibilhin lang s’ya,” said Laurete.
[We saw four people who were able to get here. I even talked to one of them. I even admonished him because he always went out. But he said he would just buy something.]
Following the discovery of Maute rebels posing as evacuees, local officials have now become stricter in checking the identities of Marawi residents seeking temporary shelter in Iligan and in giving relief goods to those affected by the crisis, according to Laurete.
The barangay captain has also prohibited displaced residents from consuming relief goods outside of evacuation centers.
“Napapansin namin kapag nakakuha na sila ng relief goods dito, lumalabas, umaalis sila…Di natin alam kung sila pupunta [We notice that after they receive relief goods here, they get out, they leave…We don’t know where they will go.]
