MANILA, Philippines –The Philippine National Police (PNP) now has in its custody the prime suspect in the Feb. 27, 2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing that claimed the lives of 116 passengers.
Suspected terrorist Ruben Pestano Lavilla, also known as Sheik Omar Lavilla, was presented at Camp Crame yesterday following his deportation by Bahraini authorities.
Lavilla, who anti-terrorism officials said is one of the leaders of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), a group alleged to have ties with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network, the Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf, was arrested in Bahrain last July 14.
His capture in Bahrain was made through the efforts of the Anti-Terrorism Council-Coordinating Center in cooperation with other local law enforcement agencies, ATT spokesman Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said.
Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Lavilla was trying to get a loan from a local bank in Bahrain when some of the documents he had submitted set off alarm bells in the tiny oil-rich state.
“It took us a month to bring him back,” Libanan told reporters, referring to the deportation proceedings.
“If you are a terrorist, wherever you are, wherever you hide, the law will catch up with you,” Blancaflor said, adding that Lavilla left the country about a month after the bombing of SuperFerry 14.
He said the 35-year-old militant leader was working as an editor of a local magazine and was also hired as an interpreter at the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain.
Lavilla is facing rebellion charges before the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, and multiple murder charges before the RTC in Cotabato City for reportedly masterminding the SuperFerry 14 bombing – tagged as the worst maritime terror attack in Asia.
The 10,192-ton SuperFerry 14 sailed out of Manila for Mindanao with some 900 passengers and crew.
After around 90 minutes of cruising, a four-kilogram TNT placed inside a television set exploded. Sixty-three people were killed instantly.
Government investigators initially ruled out sabotage but later admitted the sea mishap was a terrorist attack.
“He is included in the list of suspected terrorists under the Sanctions List of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 1267 Committee, also known as the al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee,” Blancaflor said, referring to Lavilla.
Aside from the UN terror tag, Lavilla is also the subject of anti-terror sanctions being imposed by the United States for reportedly working in cahoots with the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror group as well as the homegrown Abu Sayyaf.
Fernando Mesa, executive director of the anti-terrorism council, said Lavilla was the “brains” of the RSM, an Islamic group allegedly behind various terrorist atrocities in the country.
Lavilla, an Islamic scholar, was the spiritual leader of the group which he reportedly took over after its two top leaders were arrested in 2006.
Washington earlier moved to impose financial sanctions against Rajah Solaiman and its leaders and members. Any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States that belong to them have been frozen.
The US Treasury Department said the group has received training, money and operational assistance from JI and the Abu Sayyaf and from private Saudi sources that channeled funds through charitable private organizations in the Philippines.
Between 2002 and 2005, Saudi financiers and at least one Saudi-based Filipino financier also contributed money to RSM for training camps and planned terrorist attacks, the Treasury Department alleged. - With Rudy Santos