Manhunt launched for other suspects in SuperFerry 14 bombing

MANILA, Philippines – Police have started hunting other suspects in the SuperFerry 14 bombing on Feb. 27, 2004, following the arrest and deportation from Bahrain of the prime suspect in the attack that left 116 people dead and several others wounded.

Sources said that other than Ruben “Omar” Pestano Lavilla Jr., the main suspect in the bombing, police are looking for his companions.

Police, however, did not identify other suspects in the bombing, saying only the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) is authorized to reveal their names.

Another source said Lavilla, also an important member of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), carried out the attack on SuperFerry 14 as a member of the Abu Sayyaf and on orders of its leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman.

“The SuperFerry bombing was conducted long after the RSM had been disbanded,” an official said.

“Both the SuperFerry 14 and the Valentine’s Day bombings were projects of the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.

Four persons died and several others were wounded when a bomb exploded in a passenger bus in Makati City on Valentine’s Day in 2005.

Meanwhile, Anti-Terrorism Task Force spokesman and Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor said the Human Security Act of 2007 or the Anti-Terrorism Law cannot be applied in the case of Lavilla.

Blancaflor said the HSA was enacted into law only last July 15, while Lavilla, implicated in several terrorist acts in the country, allegedly committed the crime in 2004, four years before the law was passed.

Lavilla is also facing charges of rebellion before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Makati City and multiple frustrated murder with the RTC in Cotabato City.

“Lavilla’s arrest is not only a big boost in our fight against global terrorism but also it clearly shows that the long arm of the law will definitely catch any fugitive whether in the country or abroad,” Blancaflor said.

Lavilla, arrested in Bahrain last July 24, is included in the list of suspected terrorists under the Sanctions List of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 1267 Committee or the al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee.

He is also believed to have links with the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Lavilla’s successful arrest and deportation by Bahrain authorities were done through the efforts of the Anti-Terrorism Council Coordinating Center team and other law enforcement agencies.   – Cecille Suerte Felipe