A CONFESSED terrorist whose group allegedly plotted bomb attacks in Metro Manila has admitted that Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaeda international terror network was directly funding the Abu Sayyaf bandit group and had bankrolled the activities of his own group, the Rajah Solaiman Movement. Malik Alimuddin last week turned state witness in the case against his fellow members in the RSM, a group of Christians who had converted to Islam. He was arrested in a police raid last month along with RSM founder Ahmad Santos (also known by the aliases Hilarion del Rosario Santos/Abu Hamza/Abu Hamid al-Luzon).In a sworn statement to state prosecutors, Alimuddin said he had maintained an account in the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines where money from the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah Southeast Asian terror group and other âforeignâ supporters was being wired to finance their operations. The account was opened in the Landbank branch in Zamboanga City on the instructions of Abu Sayyaf chief Khadaffy Janjalani and Hilarion Santos, he said. âFunds from the Jemaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda were being sent to that account. The money that goes to that account is used by the Abu Sayyaf and the RSM in their armed struggle against the government,â Alimuddin said.
He agreed to open the bank account to government investigators. Alimuddin said the Abu Sayyaf had tapped Santos to form the RSM to encourage Christians to turn against the government. Intelligence agencies have identified the RSM as a major threat because many of its members can blend in easily in Manila to hit âsoft targets.â It is not known how many members the group has. Alimuddin said the brothers Hilarion and Dawud Santos (also known as Tyrone del Rosario) were active RSM members.
Last February 14, the Abu Sayyaf, with the help of Alimuddinâs group, staged three simultaneous bomb attacks in the Makati financial district and in two Mindanao cities, killing six and wounding more than 100. Shortly after, troops recovered a ton of explosives from Dawud Santos. The explosives were allegedly for a truck bomb attack on the United States Embassy. âThe Abu Sayyaf and the RSM have long had connections with the Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qaeda. The people who trained us in bomb making are foreign members of the JI,â Alimuddin said. He said local terror groups also received support from some policemen and even media people in Mindanao and Manila.
Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco yesterday submitted Alimuddinâs extrajudicial confession, which he made on October 17, to the Makati Regional Trial Court which is trying the Santos brothers, Janjalani and 18 others for terror activities, including the Valentineâs Day bombing in Makati. Velasco also submitted to the court the sworn statement of Abu Sayyaf member Gappal Bannah, alias Boy Negro, who had also turned state witness. Bannah claimed that Dawud Santos was one of the people who delivered to him the bombs that were used in the Valentineâs Day bombing.
Court proceedings against the alleged RSM members were suspended yesterday after defense lawyers told the court that one of the accused was a minor. Makati Judge Encarnacion Moya suspended the hearing and ordered the defense to submit proof that the accused was under 18 years old. Moyaâs court, a regular trial court, does not have jurisdiction over cases in which minors are involved. Cases involving minors, whether as accused, witnesses or complainants, are to be tried in designated family courts. Moya said the question of whether her court had jurisdiction over the case must first be resolved.
Velasco said that other than causing a little delay in the caseâs progress, the transfer to a juvenile court would not affect the governmentâs case. The minor, who is said to be 17 years old, is in the custody of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines after she was arrested in Zamboanga last month along with Alimuddin, Hilarion Santos, his wife Hannah Santos, Nururrija Amdal, Mursidi Balao, Ismael Idiris and Bodot Abdullah. The other accused include Dawud Santos, who is out on bail while being tried on charges of illegal possession of explosives, and Abu Sayyaf leaders Khaddafy Janjalani and Jainal Sali, alias Abu Solaiman, who are both at large.