MANILA, Philippines – The Maute Group was supposedly funded by a mall bazaar in Novaliches, and authorities have arrested its manager.
Police apprehended Rasdy Malawani alias "Rasdi Macabangkit/Makabanket" in his Quezon City residence on Thursday, October 26, for illegal possession of firearms.
He was presented to the media on Friday at the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) by QCPD Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar.
According to Eleazar, Malawani managed Salam Bazaar in Novaliches Plaza Mall, fronting for no less than the Maute patriarch Farhana Maute. (READ: Terror in Mindanao: The Mautes of Marawi)
The Maute group orchestrated and executed the Marawi siege – the Duterte administration's longest-running and most damaging crisis.