. "The Maute Group has long been professing allegiance to ISIS. So the reported raising of the ISIS flag does not come as a surprise. The Maute Group continues to court ISIS," said Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar in a statement. "However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue to frustrate the sinister objectives of the Maute Group and (the) government will prevent the situation from escalating to other areas," he added. 