The Department of Justice has filed a criminal complaint before a regional trial court in Mindanao against a suspected Spanish terrorist who was arrested in Basilan last month for illegal possession of explosives.
The DoJ has charged Abdelhakim Labidi Adib, a 20-year-old Spanish national of Tunisian descent, with violation of Presidential Decree No. 1866 as amended by Republic Act 9516, which penalizes illegal possession of firearms and explosives, before the Isabela City, Basilan Regional Trial Court.
In an eight-page resolution released on Monday, the DoJ has found probable cause in the complaint filed by the 14th Special Forces Company of the Philippine Army against the foreign national who had alleged reported links to Islamic State-inspired Maute terror group.
“The hand grenade and rifle grenade recovered from the possession of respondent are ‘explosives’ since they are capable of producing destructive effect on contiguous objects or causing injury to death to any person,” stated the resolution adopted by the investigating panel led by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong.
“The mere possession of the above articles constitutes prima facie evidence that respondent had knowledge of the existence and the explosive of incendiary character of the articles,” the prosecutors ruled.
The DoJ turned down the defense of the respondent that he went to Mindanao as a tourist looking to find a woman to love, saying such it is “unbelievable, especially so that Basilan is internationally known to be a turf of the Abu Sayyaf Group.”
In its complaint, the Philippine Army said Adib was arrested last Jan. 22 at a military checkpoint in Basilan. He was supposedly accompanied by an Abu Sayyaf member who was one of the targets of the military but was able to escape by jumping off a cliff.
Seized from him were a hand grenade, rifle grenade, detonating devices and blasting caps.
Records showed that he arrived in Manila on Oct. 10 last year and went straight to Davao where he visited several attractions before proceeding to Cagayan de Oro. In CDO, he said he met a certain Abuzaid who claimed to be part of the Yakan tribe. He said he offered to take him to his tribe and introduce him to its culture.