AN alleged supporter of the Islamic State-inspired Maute group was arrested in Quezon City on Friday morning, National Capital Police Regional Office Director Oscar Albayalde said.
In a news briefing, Albayalde said Rasdi Malawani, also known as Rasdi Macabangkit or Makabangket, was arrested at his residence in Novaliches.
Albayalde said Malawani, owner of Salaam Bazaar at Novaliches Plaza Mall, was an alleged front for Ominta Romato Maute, also known as Farhana Maute, the mother of terrorist leaders Omar and Abdullah Maute who led the five-month siege of Marawi City.
Recovered from the suspect were a rifle grenade and five live ammunition from a caliber .45. Also, a rocket-propelled grenade and numerous bank transaction receipts.
Malawani was arrested by operatives of the Quezon City Police District Special Operations Unit, District Intelligence Division, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Naval Intelligence Service Group.
Malawani managed a social media account linked to the Maute group members and acted as its supplementary financier.
“The was the basis of our operation against him. We have not yet filed a case. He was arrested not for financing terrorists, but for illegal possession of firearms,” Eleazar explained.
“The next thing to establish is the physical evidence of his connections. We can file other cases against him. You cannot apply for a search warrant because he was financing the rebels in Mindanao,” Albayalde said.
Albayalde later clarified that Malawani was only a “supporter” and “sympathizer” of the Maute group, not an official member.
“What we see now are supporters and sympathizers of Maute. Because of the killings, we expect that there will be a ‘vacuum’ to recover financially,” he said.
An intelligence report indicated that Malawani ran Salaam Bazaar in Novaliches Plaza Mall and collected rents from stallholders, which he remitted to Azesha Macabangkit-Maute alias Lily, the wife of Madie Maute who was one of the primary architects of the Marawi siege.
“They were remitting around P300,000 monthly, particularly to Lily. Based on the information, they are in Mindanao and other places,” said QCPD director Police Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar.
“They have many relatives here and they are all engaged in businesses. Usually the bazaars in Greenhills and Marikina.” he said.
“These are not groups, these are lone wolves. With the effort of all the intelligent agencies and the government, we will be able to arrest them. Our intelligence operations have been going on for quite some time,” Albayalde added.
The Maute siege of Maute lasted for five months and resulted in 1,000 deaths, including 831 terrorists, and displaced 400,000 residents.