National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales had earlier said that they have already received information regarding the "RSM" claim and are already investigating.

Gonzales said there are those who may just be using name of the group but still they cannot just brush off the claim.

In the text message to ABS-CBN , the person who said he was Sheik Omar also demanded the release of RSM founder Hilarion del Rosario Santos, alias Ahmed Santos.

RSM is a terror organization whose members are allegedly composed of Christians who have converted to Islam and reportedly operates in Manila and northern Luzon. It was suspected of carrying out the Rizal Day bombing in 2000 and Valentine’s Day bombings in 2004.

The text message also said RSM had sought the help of Assistant Secretary Severo Catura assigned to the Office of the Executive Secretary but its demand had fallen on deaf ears.

Lavilla, a former professor at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, is considered RSM’s religious, political and strategic leader.

Based on the record of the intelligence community, Lavilla allegedly trained RSM’s recruits in the group’s hideout in Pangasinan and Tarlac province. In 2002, the military stormed RSM’s training bases in both provinces.

It was reported that before the raid, Lavilla received P10 million from Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. The money was purportedly meant for RSM’s "operational expenses."

Since Santos’s capture in 2005, Lavilla served as the group’s spokesman.

ASG leader in Basilan denies involvement
A leader of the fugitive terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on Saturday denied responsibility for the deadly bomb attack Friday on the Glorietta 2 mall at the Ayala Center in Makati City.

In a phone interview with radio dzMM's Noel Alamar, Kumander Not Mudalam of the ASG in Basilan said that his group has no involvement in the bomb blast that killed 9 people and wounded more than a hundred others.

"Wala po kaming koneksyon diyan. Iyong iba nagpapanggap na ASG mas lalo pang uminit ang military sa ASG. Sa ngayon kasi galing kami sa Basilan, [mahigpit] ang seguridad ng mga military lalong-lalo ang Marines dito po sa amin. So, kami ngayon ay nasa bundok kami," Mudalam said.

(We don’t have any connection to that. There are those who pretend to be ASG causing the military to bear down on ASG. We just came from Basilan, security is tight on us especially by the Marines. So now we are in the mountains.)

He said that security was so tight in Basilan province that it would be impossible for the bandits to launch an attack in Metro Manila.

In an early dzMM interview, Gonzales did not discount the possibility that al-Qaeda-linked groups Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf could be behind the explosion.

Gonzales said it is crucial to determine the type of explosive device used in the Makati bombing to get a lead on which group is responsible for the attack.

He also said that the Friday's bombing at the Glorietta mall could be a show of force and capability by a local terror cell. Gonzales said the bombing could be a local terrorist group's way of impressing a foreign financier.

MILF offers help
Muslim separatist rebels on Saturday offered their help in tracking down those behind a shopping mall bombing that killed 10 and injured 113 in Manila.

The 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it is "prepared to gather intelligence for the Philippine authorities if asked to do so," spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP.

"We would like to help out if asked. This could help the military at least eliminate some groups from their list of suspects," he said, adding that the offer was being made as a "sincere gesture" that could also help revive stalled peace talks.

The MILF signed a truce with Manila in 2003, paving the way for peace talks. But disagreements over territorial issues have stalled the negotiations since last year.

As part of the negotiations, the MILF had earlier denounced links with the Abu Sayyaf and JI and said it would help troops track down foreign militants known to operate in its areas on the southern island of Mindanao.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks, while the JI is believed to be the Southeast Asian arm of Al-Qaeda.

‘Diversionary tactic’
Meanwhile The Philippine Star that some groups hinted that Malacañang might have a hand in the Glorietta bombing.

The Migrante International Inc. and the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), in separate statements, said Saturday the bombing could have been a ploy of the Arroyo administration to divert the public’s attention from the controversies currently besetting it.

Connie Bragas-Regalado, who chairs Migrante International, said President Arroyo is now desperate to cling to power at all costs.

"We denounce the bombing as perhaps being part of another Malacañang plot to shift the people’s attention away from the flagrant corruption charges now hurled against Arroyo over the distribution of massive amounts of cash at the Palace recently," Regalado said.

"We cannot help but wonder it this was hatched by those who wish to deflect public attention on the burning issues hounding Arroyo. It is not unlikely that Arroyo’s operatives are responsible over this fatal bombing that left scores wounded and at least 10 people killed," PCPR secretary general Amie Dural said.

Both groups urged the authorities to conduct a "truly credible investigation" and provide medical and financial assistance to the victims.

The group was apprehensive on speculations that the blast was the handiwork of terrorists and could prompt authorities to conduct "warrantless arrests" and wrongly accuse innocent civilians under the protection of the Human Security Act.

PCPR recalled that this was the same scenario when a bomb went off in Davao a few years ago. With a report from Agence France-Presse