By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) slammed the Maute terror group after a video showing the group destroying religious icons inside the St. Mary’s Cathedral before burning down the building recently surfaced online.
Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Peña said, in a statement, the destruction of religious symbols revealed the group’s true intent.
“We are angered by what happened,” he said. “Our faith has really been trampled on.”
In the video, the Maute group members were also heard yelling “Allahu Akbar,” or “Allah is great,” while tearing images of Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and burning the church’s sacramentary and lectionary.
Dela Peña slammed the group as “blasphemous” and “demonic.”
He also stated, before the actual attack, locals received information the terror group was planning to “destroy and burn the church.”
“We didn’t take it seriously because, for us, it was unthinkable,” the bishop added.
Earlier, the Maute terror group attempted a takeover of Marawi City, in an attempt to establish a “wilayat,” or province for the Islamic State (IS) in Mindanao.
The group took a local parish priest, Fr. Chito Suganob, along with several parishioners hostage./WDJ