MANILA - The military believes Maute fighters in Marawi City are already on the run after the Philippine Marines recovered at least P79 million in cash and checks in a house located near Mapandi bridge, which served as a stronghold for the terrorists.

"The Maute group, as we know, is well-funded. They have defense in position and they have a very capable group... The recovery of those millions in cash indicates that they're running as government troops are pressing in," Major Rowan Rimas of the Marines said Tuesday.

According to Rimas, the house where the Marines recovered the millions worth of cash and checks is an area well-guarded by the Maute group whose fighters were firing upon government troops trying to enter the place.

"We neutralized and occupied that position and cleared the houses in the area and eventually we recovered those millions of cash and checks," said Rimas, adding that there were also Maute snipers in the area before they were able to secure it.

During the operation, the Marines first found P52.2 million in cash at a house located near the extremists' machine gun nest. Of this amount, P52 million was wrapped in plastic bundles while P200,000 was stashed in envelopes.

Rimas said they recovered the millions worth of cash and checks inside a vault in a "well-built house" located at the left side of the road leading to Mapandi bridge. As to who owns the house or the money, the military said it will be the subject of their investigation.

Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesperson of the Army's 1st ID, said they have already sought the help of financial analysts to help them in their probe on the recovered cash and checks.

"Based on the recover of this money, we need to wait for the investigation before we can establish the facts," he said.

'HAPILON STILL IN MARAWI'

Meanwhile, Isnilon Hapilon, the known leader of the Islamic State in the Philippines, is still in the war-torn city two weeks after the conflict there erupted, according to Herrera, citing "very credible sources."

President Rodrigo Duterte has already offered an additional P10 million reward for the "neutralization" of Hapilon, which is on top of the $5-million (nearly P247 million) bounty that the US government had placed.

The military earlier said Hapilon, a senior leader of the bandit Abu Sayyaf group, "has an outstanding warrant of arrest for kidnapping with ransom and serious illegal detention."

Asked if the military can end the conflict in Marawi in a few days, as Duterte instructed, Herrera said it depends on the assessment of the ground commanders. He stressed that their primordial concern is the safety of the trapped civilians.

"In terms of deadline, wala tayong assurance na in 3 days matatapos natin because of several factors in our executions," he said.

Rimas, for his part, said the Maute fighters occupying areas of Marawi know the terrain very well, making it difficult for government troops to go after the terrorists.

"The advantage of the Maute group is mastery of terrain. Alam na alam nila 'yung mga pasikot-sikot, mga eskenita at kalsada diyan sa loob... Alam nila kung saan manggagaling ang forces natin. Alam nila kung saan magtatago," he said.