United by plot: John Paul II rises, Bin Laden falls on same day - World - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News: "al Qaeda funded Abu Sayyaf
Aside from plotting terrorist attacks, al Qaeda was purportedly instrumental in funneling funds to Abu Sayyaf, which ensured the group’s survival.
A Manila Times article in 2001 reported that both the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were receiving funding from Bin Laden, but the MILF said most of the money went to “building mosques, clinics and schools in many poor Muslim provinces.'
This was later confirmed by then Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva who said he was certain that the Abu Sayyaf could not have operated for so long without the help of Bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
The one who had allegedly channeled al Qaeda money toward various terrorist efforts in the southern Philippines was Mohamed Jamal Khalifa, who was married to Bin Laden’s half-sister, Shaikha al-Attas."
Sept 21, 2015 International Day of Peace Celebration at Lyceum University Cavite, Philippines
Ambassador Zara Bayla Juan, Sailing for Peace #PeaceDay
