The big event this week was the ASEAN meeting in Manila. Major world leaders were in attendance and policies were discussed. In the streets protesters and police clashed. Elsewhere in the streets the PNP were keeping the delegates and the city safe.
"It was a tremendous success. Of course, now that all the guests are gone, there is a sigh of relief that there was not one untoward incident. All that could have happened was one explosion, even if no one was hurt, for us to have a major disaster in our hands," he said.
A sigh of relief? Were people holding their breaths that a terrorist event could happen? But the Palace has assured us all that any warning about terrorism is false and that the Philippines is safe! Why would they be sighing in relief if there was never any danger?
Roque assured the public that there are no monitored terror threats so far in Manila and elsewhere in the country.
“The Philippine government has no information about any increased terror threat in the country and we assure our foreign friends that local authorities have been enforcing tight security measures, especially in populated areas while we urge everyone to continue being aware of one’s surroundings,” he said.
Because they all know that there IS an imminent danger of terrorism in the Philippines. It does not matter that there is no specific threat known. The essence of terrorism resides in its unknowability and unpredictability. Anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Prior to their arrest, authorities monitored Jikiri's Facebook page where they reportedly saw "hints" of a plan to launch terrorist attacks in Metro Manila.
These would-be terrorists and actress Maria Isabel Lopez have one thing in common: being stupid enough to post evidence of their crimes on social media.
Why does the government keep lying to the people about the security situation here in the Philippines? It simply does not matter that there is no specific threat at the moment. For decades now the country has been under siege by communist rebels and MUSLIM terrorists.
In the Asia-Pacific region the Philippines remains number one on the Global Terrorism Index.
Don't think I am being obtuse here. Of course we can all go about our business fairly safely. I can go the market or the mall and not worry about getting blown up. But this does not mean the Philippines is safe. Most of the terrorism in the Philippines takes place in Mindanao because that is where the large MUSLIM terrorist groups reside. The goals of these groups is not to take over Manila it's to take over Mindanao as an Islamic State.
Will these villagers be given government housing and assistance? Not likely. These clashes will continue as long as armed ISLAMIC groups remain in Mindanao. Why is BIFF outlawed but MILF is partnering with the AFP?
Local officials in North Cotabato said the MILF is now helping soldiers locate Abdulmalik and his men in Carmen.
MILF is a terrorist group. They are not the good guys and to give this group any legitimacy is to keep the cycle of terrorism going. The cycle works like this: Large group with demands - demands not met - members get restless and break off into new faction. BIFF is a faction of MILF which is a faction of MNLF. MILF and MNLF are both pushing for the BBL which is a long time coming. Reports are that these groups are getting restless because of the delays which will in turn lead to more factions.
The other source of fighters is foreign lands. The call has been put out for any and all who wish to fight jihad to make their way to the Philippines. This call has not gone unheeded.
Several Caucasian-looking gunmen, among at least 10 foreigners and their pro-Islamic State (IS) allies from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were being pursued by government troops on the borders of two North Cotabato towns, the military said on Saturday.
“This is now causing us some concerns because of the upcoming Christmas,” he said.
Meanwhile, a senior anti-terror official declined to confirm the presence of this huge number of foreign jihadists in the country.
“We are still validating this,” the official said, although he confirmed that prior to the Marawi siege, a dozen foreign militants – some from the Middle East – entered the country through Palawan and Tawi-Tawi from Malaysia.
Still validating this information? But it's been four months already since this information was first known!
How long do they need to validate this information? My guess is it will be too late by the time they validate it. Please let us not forget that before the Marawi siege the government KNEW the plans AND they had intelligence reports they did not verify!
Note above how they are concerned about the possible presence of these fighters because Christmas is coming up. This concern is a tacit admission that what is happening is holy war and that ISLAM IS the cause of all the trouble. The MUSLIMS aren't excited for Christmas because there are big crowds they can blow to pieces at the mall. The MUSLIM terrorists are excited because Christmas is one of the holiest times of the year and what better way to sow terror than to blow up a church full of worshippers? It happened last year.
In addition to the ISLAMIC terror groups in Mindanao there are also the communist rebels which are dispersed throughout the country.
The peace talks were always a farce. The CPP-NPA wants a piece of the Philippines not peace in the Philippines. The NPA has not stopped their attacks on the AFP, PNP, or civilians and has even amped them up in response to the declaration of martial law.
"I'll be issuing a proclamation. I will remove them from the category of a legal entity or at least a semi-movement which would merit our attention, placing them pareho sa (like) Amerika, terrorist," Duterte said Saturday.
The CPP and NPA are on the US list of foreign terrorist organizations since Aug. 9, 2002. The Arroyo administration requested for the rebel group's inclusion on the list.
Why has this group, which has spilled much innocent blood over the years, been listed as a terrorist organisation by the USA since 2002 but in the Philippines is "a legal entity or at least a semi-movement?" They should have even declared terrorists and enemies of the state decades ago.
All of this is to say that the Philippines is NOT SAFE. Why else would the AFP recommend that martial law be extended?
With security threats still prevailing in Mindanao, the military might consider extending martial law in the region.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla yesterday said the military continues to operate against threat groups in Mindanao following the liberation of Marawi last month.
The AFP still has to contend with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Abu Sayyaf and other extremist groups in Mindanao, he said.
Padilla stressed that government forces are also working on the possible lifting of martial law now that residents have been allowed to go back to their homes in Marawi.
“We’re working towards that. We’re hoping to be able to address and normalize everything by the end of the year because that was the deadline given to us,” Padilla said.
“But be that as it may, the network of the local terrorist groups still continues and this is the subject of our efforts,” he said.
This is pure double speak. On-going security
threats necessitate an extension of martial law but they want to normalise everything by the end of the year and maybe lift martial law. It's one or the other. And its likely the former. The security crisis in Mindanao won't be over by year's end. BIFF, Abu Sayyaf, MNLF, MILF and all the rest will still be there. Will an extension pass legal muster?
For three senators – Joseph Victor Ejercito, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Gregorio Honasan –extending martial law in Mindanao is justified in view of persistent terror threats.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, who hails from Mindanao, said he would first “wait for and listen to their (military) basis and reasons” for pushing for extending martial law.
“They do not want a repeat of Marawi. With martial law in place, there is control of firearms. With martial law, even the private armies of warlords are kept in check,” Ejercito said in an interview over radio dwIZ.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/11/19/1760339/martial-law-extension-afp-pnp-rody
First of all if they don't want a repeat of Marawi then the senate had better hold an investigation into this whole situation and determine what went wrong and how to avoid the same mistakes. Secondly with private armies and warlords populating Mindanao it's evident that the rule of law is the rule of the gun in Mindanao.
How an extension of martial law will exactly help them destroy the ISLAMIC terrorists is a mystery. It didn't work during the Marcos regime and if the AFP hasn't been able to get the area under control using the tools they have at hand what exactly will martial law bring to the table? At any rate the Philippines, especially Mindanao, remains under siege from communists and Muslims. Maybe Bato is right. Maybe it's time for ordinary citizens to shoot commies and Muslims on sight.
He believes organized gun owners and holders could be a deterrent to terrorist groups because the latter would know that there will be people who could immediately stop them.
These terrorist groups are armed to the teeth. They have machine guns, body armour, bombs, grenades, and other high grade weapons. Some guy or group of watchmen with their pistols or their rifles is not going to stop these terrorists.
I have a better suggestion for Bato and Maj. Gen. Padilla. Gather the intelligence, find their locations, and then kill them all. Stop bargaining with them. Stop reasoning with them. Kill every last one of those ISLAMIC and communist terrorists. Make it a steady war of attrition. Do not stop until it is over. 100% over. No more MUSLIM terrorists or communists over. No more MILF, MNLF, BIFF, or Abu Sayyaf over. Take a lesson from the film The Terminator:
