The Philippines' War on Terror, especially since last year's Marawi siege, has been a failure from day one with intelligence failings (the DND and AFP ignored foreign intel reports) and carefully crafted yet empty showmanship (Duterte firing a machine gun at nothing in Marawi) designed to stir up public support for the war. It's a unique situation when the Philippine government does something that falls under both categories.
DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra admitted this before lawmakers on Monday, August 6, as he defended his department’s proposed P21.353-billion budget for 2019, an increase from its P19.664 billion budget this year.
“The DOJ itself did not have any personal verification of any connection by these individuals with the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) or the NPA (National People’s Army),” said Guevarra.
He added the names and aliases all came from the intelligence units from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.
The lack of intelligence aspect is obvious. The DOJ relied solely on this list from the AFP and PNP and did not do any fact checking before they submitted this list to the Manila Regional Trial Court for approval. The showmanship comes in because a UN rapporteur on indigenous rights was included in this list and her inclusion was used as a way to humiliate the UN. Both Corpuz and the UN fervently declared her innocence and denied the whole thing as a witch hunt. DFA Sec. Cayetano retailed by saying the fact that these names all came from AFP and PNP lists was basis enough.
“Ms. Tauli-Corpuz and the other individuals mentioned in the petition are there because of their membership in or association with the CPP-NPA as reported over the years by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Cayetano said on Friday.
“If indeed Ms. Tauli-Corpuz and the others named in the petition are innocent as they claim they are, they should see this as an opportunity to clear their names and prove in court that they have never been members of or associated with the group,” he added.
Roque also assured the international community that the Philippine government has enough evidence to pin down Tauli-Corpuz.
He also appealed to the United Nations Council to conduct an intensified background check on the personalities they appoint as special rapporteurs.
“I assure everyone including the international community that this is not a witch hunt on UN special rapporteurs,” Roque said.
“Instead, perhaps, the UN rapporteur system should fine tune its selection process to ensure that individuals identified with terrorist groups are not given any mandate by the UN Human Rights Council,” he added.
Notice in the last paragraph how Roque mocks the UN and practically convicts Corpuz of being linked with a terrorist organisation.
This week the Manila RTC cleared the names of Corpuz and three others for lack of merit despite the former claims of Roque and Cayetano. The court did not agree with Cayetano that there was any basis for her inclusion.
The court cleared them because “there is nothing in the petition or its attachments that point to Molintas and Corpuz being officers or representatives of the CPP-NPA.”
Will Corpuz be receiving an apology from Roque, Cayetano, or anyone in the Duterte administration? Don't count on it.
Certainly the biggest piece of empty showmanship in the Philippines' War on Terror is the Bangsomoro Law.
President Rodrigo Duterte formally handed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim on Monday, August 6, marking a milestone in the group's efforts to bring peace to Mindanao.
The landmark law was presented by Duterte to Murad during a ceremony in Malacañang, in the presence of Congress leaders and Cabinet members.
The BOL is a significant step to stopping the spread of terrorism and extremist beliefs in Mindanao, a region that has been besieged with conflict, said Deputy Presidential Peace Process Adviser Nabil Tan.
"That's why [Mindanao] has become fertile ground for the recruitment of terrorists – Abu Sayyaf, Maute – because the frustrations of people are easy to feed. It's easy to lure them into illegal activities," he said in a press release.
"This (BOL) is one effective vaccine against terrorism," he added.
The MILF Central Committee announced last August 1 that it "formally accepts" the BOL, which Duterte signed on July 26 after its ratification by both chambers of Congress.
This brings to a new level 17 years of peace negotiations between the MILF and the government.
Tan said the BOL would help address grievances that provoke some in Mindanao to join terror groups.
In particular, he cited provisions in the law that provide annual block grants to the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region from funds automatically appropriated in the national budget.
Some of these funds would be devoted to rehabilitation and development of conflict-ravaged areas.
This would give the Bangsamoro government "greater fiscal autonomy" compared to the previous situation where the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) practically "begged Congress" to release funds for certain projects.
If the block grant is not enough, the BOL also sets aside a Special Development Fund for the new region specifically to help develop its economy.
"It will improve the present ARMM. It will empower [the Bangsamoro government]. It will accord [the Bangsamoro people] greater participation by the national government in terms of governance," said Tan.
Duterte's analogy of the BOL being a vaccine does not work because vaccines prevent diseases and Mindanao is already ravaged with the disease of war and conflict. Don't forget that it's not just war between the government and terrorists it's also war between differing groups and conflict between clans. With Sharia set to be the law of the land in the BOL as it is now in the ARMM conflict will remain between clans. Revenge killings are an everyday occurrence because that is the culture of Islam.
Note two other things. The BOL is the culmination of peace talks between the government and MILF only. The BOL mandates that all government positions be 50% from MILF. All the other groups have been left in the cold and received nothing. Second the region will be given a block grant but if that is not enough there is a special fund set aside for the region!! It's hard to not miss the fact that the BOL empowers and enriches the MILF to the exclusion of all the other groups.
Where will all this money come from anyway? Teachers scraping by with their meagre salary have been repeatedly denied a pay raise. So where will all the money come from to pay for the BOL?
“Obviously the budget you presented today does not take into account the financial implications of the formation of the Bangsamoro government. Secretary Dominguez is shaking his head so for the record the proposed 2019 budget does not include the projected budget for the Bangsamoro,” Drilon said.
Budget Undersecretary Janet Abuel confirmed the information.
“Indeed, it is not yet incorporated in the 2019 proposed budget,” she said.
She added they would just reallocate the budget allocation for the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“We have a proposed budget for the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] which amounts to P32.2 billion and we can be able to reallocate that considering the complications for the requirements under the BOL,” she said.
Budget reallocation. Of course the funds will appear. If you really want something you will pay for it. But the 32.2 billion budget for the ARMM iso only half as much as the BOL's guaranteed 60 billion block grant.
Passage of the BOL has not stopped Abu Sayyaf from engaging in terrorist activities.
The provincial government of Palawan has gone public with an intelligence report warning of a plot by Abu Sayyaf to sow terror in the province through kidnappings and advised local governments and tourism establishments to put extra security measures in place.
The intelligence report claimed that a unit of Abu Sayyaf made its way to Palawan from Sulu.
No further details were available.
The military has been regularly sharing intelligence reports of this kind to local governments but this was the first time that the provincial government raised an alarm over such a report since the 2001 kidnapping of tourists in the resort Dos Palmas by Abu Sayyaf.
“We believe the threat is credible enough so we alerted all our mayors and tourism operators, including barangay officials to be careful, be aware of their surroundings, and be vigilant,” Teodoro Matta, provincial administrator, said.
Allegedly there have been a few terrorists who have surrendered specifically because of the BOL.
“When President Duterte gave us the BOL, it convinced us to surrender because we have no more reasons to fight the government,” Malawan said. “The President want peace in Mindanao, that is also what we want so we decided to surrender,” he added.
Appearing meek and submissive, Malawan and his five followers turned in six high powered firearms that included two improvised caliber .50 Barrett sniper rifles, and two shoulder-fired rocket propelled grenades. They also handed over to Col. Robert Dauz, commander of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, an M-14 rifle and one caliber .30 bolt action Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle.
After weeks of backchannel talks, Malawan and his followers quietly emerged from the Liguasan marshland aboard a motorized banca carrying their firearms. They were met by local officials in Barangay Midpandakan, Gen. SK Pendatun, Maguindanao Thursday morning.
In simple ceremonies, Malawan lauded the provincial government for giving them the chance to surrender and to live normal lives.
Malawan cited the programs of Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, 33rd Infantry Battalion chief, and Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, who provided electricity to the village, the first government service to reach the poor community.
Meanwhile, the BIFF, through spokesperson Abu Amir, denied they have members who surrendered and did not recognize Malawan as one of them.
But why should the public believe these reports when the AFP and DND have a history of bad intelligence if not outright public deception? Where is the proof that this man was in the BIFF and why did he surrender in a public ceremony? Why did he laud government efforts to bring electricity to the poor when he was just fighting against the government? Was he unaware of this effort? (Side note: how will these poor people pay for the electricity?)
It's hard to believe any side here. Best to make a mental note and take it with a grain of salt. After all BIFF is still at war with the government.
And despite tales of mass surrender the NPA is also still at war with the government.
6 vs 100 sounds heroic. Like a movie. Surely these constant attacks will not incline the Duterte administration to renew peace talks for the 3rd or 4th time.
Why even bother? These people should be demanding the Reds put down their weapons. How can their be peace talks with the Reds when they are still engaged in deadly conflict?
Last but certainly not least comes this bit of what might be best termed "reluctant intelligence." Last week a suicide bomber was declared by an expert to be a Moroccan. DND Sec. Lorenzana resisted this bit of intelligence but now he has fully yielded.
Barely two weeks after a suicide bombing by a foreign ISIS soldier in southern Philippines, Filipino Defense chief Delfin Lorenzana said the attack was believed carried out by a Moroccan militant.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the July 31 suicide attack in Lamitan City in the province of Basilan – just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City – that left over a dozen casualties.
In a post on its Amaq News Agency, the Islamic State said a Moroccan man carried out the daring assault against Filipino soldiers and identified the executor of the suicide bombing as Abu Katheer al Maghribi. “A martyrdom attack leads to 15 Filipino soldiers being killed in the city of Lamitan on the island of Basilan in the southern Philippines,” it said.
The Philippine military tried to downplay the explosion, saying, there was no proof that it was a suicide attack despite several witnesses reports claiming witnesses had seen the bomber before he detonated his van. Lamitan Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay, quoting a report by witnesses, also said that the driver appeared to be a foreigner and could not speak the local dialect when stopped by soldiers at the army checkpoint.
Hataman also downplayed claims by the Islamic State, saying, it was propaganda by the terror group. “Mahilig naman mag-claim mga yan. Mga yan mahilig din mag-propaganda. Hindi naman suicide yun kasi nasita,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The province is also a known stronghold of the militant group Abu Sayyaf whose leaders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Several foreign fighters had been killed in clashes with soldiers in Basilan in recent years.
Perhaps the DND has not fully yielded. They should be forthright with the public and let them know that ISIS still has a footing in the country. With these kinds of denials and subsequent retractions which show an unwillingness to face reality it is certain more violence will come.
