US embassy cable - 05MANILA2016

S E C R E T MANILA 002016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2015 
TAGS: PTER, EFIN, PREL, SA, RP, XC, XF 
SUBJECT: ENGAGING THE SAUDIS ON GWOT EFFORTS IN THE 
PHILIPPINES 
 
REF: A. MANILA 1614 
     B. TD-314/20397-05 (5 APRIL 05) 
     C. TD-314/26225-05 (2 MAY 05) 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, reasons 1.4 (b)(c) an 
d (d) 
 
 1.  (S/NF)  In a meeting on May 2, Ambassador told Foreign 
Secretary Romulo of our concern about the role Saudi-based 
 
SIPDIS 
financiers appear to be playing in Mindanao by channeling 
money to terrorists linked to the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and 
the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).  He noted that there has been at 
least one case in which the Saudi Ambassador here had 
successfully intervened with the Bureau of Immigration to 
secure the release of a suspected terrorist financier.  He 
warned of an ongoing case in which a Saudi national with 
apparent terrorist links had been captured by the Philippine 
National Police (PNP) recently.  He urged that the GRP 
register its concerns about these cases frankly with the 
Saudi Ambassador, and urge that all assistance from Saudi 
Arabia be handled in an open and transparent manner at all 
levels of the GRP, including the city and provincial levels, 
as the USG and other economic donors do.  He told Romulo that 
he had proposed to the Saudi Ambassador a collaborative 
approach to development assistance in Mindanao, and that the 
Saudi Ambassador had expressed warm interest. 
 
2.  (S)  Secretary Romulo expressed concern at these reports, 
and asked for more details about the latest case.  Ambassador 
referred him to the PNP.  Romulo said that he had understood 
that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) itself was not 
involved with the JI and ASG, although some "renegades" 
within the MILF might be.  Ambassador confirmed that the MILF 
leadership was at least aware of the support to the ASG and 
JI some of its factions were providing. 
 
3.  (S)  Action request:  In ref a (repeated to GCC), Mission 
urged that we impress more fully on the Saudi government the 
importance of information-sharing with governments in the 
region, and highlighted the "ambiguous" role of both official 
and unofficial Saudis in aiding suspected terrorists here in 
the Philippines.  We reported that there have been no 
discernible Saudi efforts to guard against private Saudi 
funding to extremist Islamic groups here.  We recommend 
greater attention to this issue across intra-USG regional 
bureaucratic lines and a serious and candid discussion with 
the Saudis and other Gulf Arabs about countering terrorist 
financing from the Gulf to Mindanao, and to Southeast Asia 
generally, if the problem is as evident elsewhere in the 
region. 
Ricciardone