Security forces told to stay vigilant

CEBU CITY – Counter-terrorism analyst Dr. Rommel Banlaoi warned security sector in central Philippines to stay vigilant on the possible spill over of terrorist threats from Mindanao while preparing for any eventualities in the contested West Philippine Sea.

Banlaoi said terrorist organizations in the southern Philippines are still capable of staging attacks, citing some incidents occurring even after the May 2017 Marawi siege by pro-ISIS militant groups Dawlah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf, among other terror groups.

He said the decades-old communist insurgency remains a persistent terrorist threat in Mindanao and the Visayas. Security forces are still fighting several fronts in the restive southern region where pro-ISIS militants and Maoist rebels are actively operating.

“Terrorism in the Philippines is not disappearing. It is not disappearing because we have to understand terrorism in the Philippines in the context of our domestic security threats. Domestically, we have been experiencing prolonged internal armed conflict associated with communist rebellion initiated (and) led by the New People’s Army and Moro separatist group, especially the Abu Sayyaf, the various factions of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other pro-ISIS elements now operating in the Philippines,” he said.

Banlaoi cited history, politics, and economics, social, cultural, ideological, religious, and personal reasons as underlying causes to the persistent existence of terrorist groups in the country. He noted a coincidence that when a certain group advocated the return of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, a social media account propped up, pushing for the creation of the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines that calls for support and even donations.

Banlaoi, chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, warned of different ways of perpetrating terror attacks which may be carried out using an aerial drone, lone wolf suicide bomber, car bombs, and even animal bombs. “So far, all suicide terrorist attacks in the Philippines have become family affairs, thus the advent of family suicide terrorism, which inevitably involved female and their children,” he said.

However, he said there is still a great need to strengthen the community-based approach to countering current, persistent, and emerging terrorist threats in the country while the authorities are preparing for any regional emergencies that may crop up because of the Philippines’ territorial sea dispute with the neighboring countries.

He cited the need for the Filipino people to comprehensively understand the issues in the western seaboard, even as he pointed out the difference between the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea. He said it is imperative for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to intensify patrols at the West Philippine Sea. “If we can patrol, we can own and control our water,” he said. (John Rey Saavedra)