Early life and education
Omar Maute was born on June 12, 1980. Siblings Omar and Abdullah Maute are descended from a Maranao warrior clan based in Butig, Lanao del Sur,[1] the town where they were born and spent their childhood.[2] They were born to Cayamora[3] and Farhana Maute.[4]
The brothers had worked in the Middle East as Overseas Filipino Workers. While working for secular schools in Syria and the United Arab Emirates, the brothers studied Wahhabism.[1] Omar was reportedly educated in Egypt.[5]
Personal life
Omar Maute was said to be fluent in the Indonesian language,[6] and was married to the daughter of a conservative Indonesian Islamic cleric. The Maute siblings include a third brother named Hashim who was detained in the Marawi City jail until 2016 when he successfully escaped.[5]
His mother, Ominta Romato Maute, also known as Farhana Maute, has been described by some sources as the financier of the Maute group's activities, providing logistics and recruiting fighters.[4] She was arrested on June 9, 2017, in Lanao del Sur. Her husband, Cayamora Maute, was arrested the day before in Davao City.[14] Cayamora Maute died in August 2017 on the way to Taguig-Pateros District Hospital after experiencing difficulty in breathing.[3]
On May 16, 2024, Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 266 Judge Marivic C. Cudilla-Victor, in a 39-page decision convicted Ominta Romato Maute of money laundering and terrorist financing, in violation of Republic Act 10168, "The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act." She was penalized with imprisonment of 17 years, four months and one day and to "reclusión perpetua" with P500,000 fine.[15]
