EDITORIAL - Who’s arming the Mautes?

Even with Marawi City looking like a ghost town, Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists continue to put up a spirited fight against the government forces out to “pulverize” them.

As the battle for Marawi entered the third week, the terrorists even managed to kill 13 Marines in a firefight that the military believes took place in an area where Abu Sayyaf commander Isnilon Hapilon, tagged as the Islamic State representative in the Philippines, was holding out.

Where is all the Maute firepower coming from? Unless the government can shut down this gun network, the terrorists have a good chance of rebuilding their strength after being “crushed” in Marawi.

President Duterte has said the order to attack Marawi came directly from the head of IS himself, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The President must have received his information from security agencies. If they know that the order came from Baghdadi, they must also have an idea of how money, weapons and other supplies are being funneled to the terrorists.

Yesterday, IS congratulated the Filipino terrorists for the attack on Marawi. The Sunnis of IS have set up a base in Iraq and Syria as well as cells in over a dozen countries, with “aspiring branches” reported in six others including the Philippines and Indonesia. The group’s attacks and its claimed creation of a global caliphate have earned it the notoriety that attracts funding from around the world. But the network is not impossible to penetrate.

Amid the Marawi siege, government forces have arrested terrorist fighters and supporters, among them the parents of the Maute brothers Omar and Abdullah. Those arrested, who face indictments for rebellion and illegal possession of weapons and explosives, can be mined for precious information on their financial and supply networks. Unearthing the sources of funding and weaponry is critical if the government wants to permanently neutralize this threat.