Is ISIS in the Philippines or Not?

There are conflicting reports of whether or not ISIS is in the Philippines.  Let's take look at the timeline of ISIS in the Philippines.

October 02, 2014

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/02/1375654/islamic-state-popularity-growing-philippines

December 21, 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3368646/ISIS-unveil-Philippines-new-breeding-ground-jihadis-latest-propaganda-video-featuring-secret-Filipino-jungle-training-camp.html

January 14, 2016

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/135083/analysts-isis-a-real-threat-to-ph

February 04, 2016

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/02/04/1549519/us-closely-monitoring-isis-threat-philippines-southeast-asia

February 17, 2016

http://www.rappler.com/nation/122649-jihadist-groups-allegiance-isis

April 14, 2016

http://time.com/4293395/isis-zamboanga-mindanao-moro-islamist-terrorist-asia-philippines-abu-sayyaf/

The caption of this photo reads:

Philippine army soldiers stage a counterterrorism operation against Maute terrorists, who are allegedly linked with ISIS, in Butig, the Philippine province of Lanao Del Sur, in Mindanao Island, on March 1, 2016

So the AFP knew that Maute was linked with ISIS back in March 2016 and likely even before that!

April 15, 2016

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/04/15/1573113/there-isis-presence-philippines-experts-disagree

June 22, 2016

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/22/1595580/isis-releases-first-propaganda-video-philippines

July 7, 2016

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/07/07/1600470/police-says-no-isis-presence-davao-city

Here we have the first official denial of ISIS being in the Philippines despite all the evidence to the contrary as seen in the headlines above.

November 28, 2016

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/150199/duterte-isis-creeping-ph-maute-group

February 27, 2017

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/27/philippine-militants-release-video-germans-beheading.html

April 06, 2017

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/154434/2-suspected-isis-members-arrested-ph

May 24, 2017

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/611906/no-isis-presence-in-phl-afp-pnp/story/

Given everything above how can the AFP and PNP make such an asinine and ludicrous statement as "We don't have ISIS in the Philippines?"  These people are either stupid or treacherous.  It is patently obvious to outside and inside observers that ISIS has been a growing threat in the Philippines for some time. Duterte explicitly linked Maute to ISIS in November 2016 based on intelligence reports he had received. DID the AFP not get these reports?

Did the AFP forget that Maute raised the black flag of ISIS in November 2016 when they took over the town of Butig?

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/27/16/army-presses-offensive-in-maute-held-lanao-town

May 25, 2017

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/612140/mindanao-terrorist-groups-forged-unity-under-isis-security-analyst/story

May 29, 2017

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/05/29/1704755/duterte-bestows-isis-status-maute-group

This article is very misleading. Maute group was known to have ISIS links long before Duterte "bestowed ISIS status on Maute group." Duterte said this explicitly in November 2016.

June 05, 2017

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/902660/1200-is-operatives-in-ph-says-indonesia

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2017/06/05/afp-surprised-reported-presence-1200-isis-operatives-philippines-545751

How much more proof does one need?  These people say they are ISIS, they adhere to ISIS ideology, they fly the flag of ISIS, and ISIS has encouraged jihadis to flock to the Philippines. 

The conclusion is that ISIS is indeed in the Philippines and has been in the Philippines for a few years now silently growing in strength while the AFP has ignored them as not being really ISIS but only wannabes.

How can the public believe anything the AFP says regarding the presence of ISIS when they are either lying about or ignoring the threat?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/882639/afp-no-reported-presence-of-maute-group-in-metro-manila