MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted on Thursday that the mother of the Maute brothers leading the siege of Marawi City had sent feelers to President Rodrigo Duterte to initiate talks. Speaking at a media conference, the Defense chief said that the president rejected the overtures from Farhana Maute, mother of brothers Omar and Abdullah of the Islamic State-inspired Maute local terror group, as the government had already sustained a mounting number of casualties at that time. “I know that the president received some feelers from the mother of the Maute, si Farhana, pero at that time, marami na kasing sundalong patay. The clashes in Marawi City have already claimed more than 450 lives and decimated much of the city’s downtown district. Abella said the Maute Group tried to remove the allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines of Marawi City and its residents.

Source: Philippine Star July 06, 2017 10:51 UTC