Insurgency: Ban on Security Forces

In the wake of the bombing at Mindanao State University it was suggested there might have been a failure of intelligence. This week DND Secretary Teodoro confirms there was a failure to appreciate intelligence. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/12/15/2319100/amid-msu-bombing-defense-chief-urges-review-campus-ban-security-forces

Department of National Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro has maintained that there was no “failure of intelligence” that led to the fatal bombing of a gymnasium inside the Mindanao State University in Marawi City on December 3.

Defending the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Teodoro stressed that what happened was officials’ “failure to appreciate” the intelligence sent to them, but he did not categorically name the institution or authorities who did so.

“We have been very vigilant in trying to track down these people. Naturally, there are weak links in the chain in areas beyond our control,” Teodor told ANC’s Headstart on Friday.

The defense chief said that there is a need for the “appropriate authorities” to review the policy of the MSU that restricts the entry of police and military personnel — a policy that Teodoro said was similar to that of the now-dead defense accords of the University of the Philippines.

“It’s safe for me to say that had there been police or military inside the compound, there would have been appropriate measures that could have forestalled this incident,” Teodoro said, adding that MSU keeps its own security force.

The failure to appreciate intelligence stems from the fact that there was no PNP or AFP presence on campus. Teodoro does not say who was providing security for MSU. Seeing as two of the bombing suspects were living in a safehouse on campus and the two men were known to authorities there most certainly was a failure to appreciate what was happening and the very real threat of terrorism. 

DND Secretary Teodoro's statements about needing the PNP and AFP only underscores the fact that Mindanao remains dangerous without national security forces being positioned everywhere. Two more suspects are being sought in connection with the bombing and they too are members of the DI. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1875583/new-persons-of-interest-behind-msu-blast-hunted

The Philippine National Police has put up a P1-million reward for any information that would lead to the identities of two new “persons of interest” suspected to have planted the bomb in the gymnasium of the Mindanao State University (MSU) on Dec. 3.

Three others, said to be members of the Daulah Islamiyah (DI)-Maute Group, a local affiliate of the Islamic State which claimed responsibility for the explosion, had been arrested in separate operations last week. They were being investigated for their supposed roles in the attack that killed four and wounded more than 50 people attending a Sunday Mass.

However, two suspects earlier identified behind the bombing remain at large.

In a press briefing in Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the two persons of interest were seen through backtracking of security camera footage outside the Mohammad Ali B. Dimaporo Gymnasium at MSU’s main campus in Marawi City early on Dec. 3.

Based on footage from a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera outside the gym, the two men were seen entering the gym at 6:08 a.m. and even went for a coffee around 30 minutes later.

According to Fajardo, the first man, who was wearing a black jacket, was the driver of the getaway motorcycle.

By 7:03 a.m., the first man and the second man, who was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and carrying a black sling bag, entered the gym.

“As you can see in the CCTV, the sling bag is shown to have two bumps, because inside it were the improvised explosive device (IED) used, which is a 60-mm mortar and a rocket-propelled grenade. It was very obvious that it was in the bag where the concealed explosives were,” Fajardo said.

The two men left the gym at 7:11 a.m., a minute before the explosion happened. The second man was then seen using his cellphone, which appeared to be the triggering device of the IED.

“We are appealing to the public, if you know these persons, please contact the police. We have reasonable grounds to believe that these two persons, along with other personalities—are involved in the explosion in MSU,” Fajardo said.

Just how many people are involved in this bombing? Could it be that members of MSU's own security force are involved? In any case the DI remains active and dangerous. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1215287

Some 5,000 civilians have been displaced by armed hostilities involving Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the terrorist group Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) in a remote village here, located beside the Liguasan Marsh.

“These civilians are temporarily staying in nearby villages and still afraid to return home. We are attending to the needs of affected families,” Pagalungan Vice Mayor Abdillah Mamasabulod said in an interview on Tuesday.

Classes in Barangay Dalgan and adjacent villages have been suspended since Monday to ensure the safety of students, Mamasabulod added.

On Monday, members of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces retrieved their fallen comrades from the marshland and immediately buried them per Islamic tradition, according to Datu Edu Dalga, the chair of Barangay Dalgan.

Reports said at least 11 Islamic State-linked DI gunmen, nine MILF members, and two civilians caught in the crossfire were killed in the intermittent clashes.

Mamasabulod said the conflict erupted on Dec. 7 when the DI Hassan Group killed a man named Kagi Samsudin and his one-year-old daughter in Barangay Dalgan.

Samsudin’s relatives, who are members of the MILF, pursued the fleeing DI gunmen deep into the marshland but were ambushed instead, resulting in nine deaths, according to MILF commander Jack Abas.

The Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade came to the MILF’s rescue on Dec. 9 when it launched air and artillery attacks against the DI, killing 11 of them.

Clearing operations are continuing against the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)-inspired gunmen and would not pause even during the holidays, according to the military.

It should really come as no surprise that the DI remains active and dangerous but the PNP and AFP have been so busy touting victories and the DOT has been so busy attempting to transform Mindanao into a tourist destination that everyone seems to have forgotten their existence and the threat they pose to the safety of the entire province. 

Last year the same exact thing happened. Four bombs went off in Mindanao, the PNP hinted at the possibility of intel failures, and the PNP downplayed the seriousness of the bombings by attributing them to local crime groups. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1605540/pnp-local-terror-groups-may-be-behind-mindanao-blasts-sara-duterte-not-a-target

The recent bombings in the cities of Koronadal and Tacurong, may be the handiwork of local lawless groups out to sow terror and impose their presence in the area and are not targeting Vice President – elect and incumbent DavaoCity Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Thursday.

Danao said the individuals or groups behind the bombing may just want to sow terror in the area or may just want to make their presence felt.

“Ang isa siguro diyan is to sow terror and isa siguro is just for them to be felt that their presence is there,” he said.

The PNP is looking at extortion as a possible motive for the explosions but they have not yet ruled out terrorism.

Then it turned out that the bombers were members of the DI.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1605712/suspect-in-bus-bombings-slain-in-afp-operation-pal-nabbed

Military authorities today announced the death of a suspected terror group member believed to be behind the bombings in central Mindanao.

Another Dawlah Islamiya (DI) terrorist group member was also arrested.

Citing intelligence information, Gonzales said the suspects were involved in the recent bus bombing in Koronadal City, the blast in Tacurong City, and the previous bomb attacks in Mlang and Aleosan towns of Cotabato, and the one in Parang, Maguindanao.

The two reportedly belonged to the DI faction headed by Commanders Almoben Camen Sebod and Omal Kamsa, a member of the Islamic State-affiliated Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

What we see here is the same pattern again and again. The PNP and AFP appear to not be taking the threat of terrorism seriously. They would say otherwise but actions speak louder than words. Based on how this situation continues to repeat itself it will be no surprise if there are more bombings by the DI.