Maute matriarch convicted

Ominta Romato Maute, also known as Farhana Maute, the matriarch of a family linked by authorities to terrorism, was convicted Wednesday of terror financing.

Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla praised the Department of Justice’s Counter-Terrorism and Terrorism Financing Task Force I for securing the conviction.

A Taguig City court found Maute guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 4 of Republic Act 10168, the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.

The court found that Maute knowingly allowed her vehicle to be used by five men whom authorities alleged were members of a terrorist group.

The men were later found with improvised explosive devices. Prosecutors said Maute’s actions constituted terror financing because the vehicle was used to support terrorism.

Ominta Maute is the mother of Omar and Abdullah Maute, founders of the terrorist Maute Group that led the siege on Marawi City in 2017. The brothers have since been killed by government forces.