RedBlueThoughts

A New Breed of Terrorism in Mindanao: And the Philippine Government is Helpless and remains the weakest link in the Global Anti-Terror campaign

Just like I wrote here at RedBlueThoughts—the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was behind the recent beheadings of Marines in Basilan. Scour this page and you’ll find that I also wrote that the ASG is the one responsible for the kidnapping of Father Bossi. Yes, all my analyses have been validated. Philippine Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said that at least 4 Abu Sayyaf terrorists perpetuated the beheadings, contradicting earlier claims by the Basilan vice governor Akbar that the ASG is no longer seen in his province.

ASG more politicized

I’ve been studying this group for a long time. And I believe that they have now evolved into another more deadly form. They have been both politicized and more fanatical (hence fratricidal) now compared some years ago. Why do I say this?

A new Abu Sayyaf

First, I believe that the death of former ASG Chieftain Janjalani ushered in a new form of ASG. With the purported “election” of their Imam as their new leader, the ASG has turned into a more spiritual and therefore, more dangerous entity. What makes them more sinister is the fact that no one knows them anymore. No new intelligence has been published about this new ASG precisely because the government is ashamed that it is losing the fight against terrorism in the country.

Consider this—the Philippines once proclaimed itself as the anti-terror czar in the Asia-Pacific region. With the published “deaths” of key ASG leaders, the Philippine president announced that the ASG is “now running scared and decimated”.

Now, it seems that it was a case of announcing this too soon. The ASG is alive and well. They have kidnapped a priest and caused an incident that would probably turn into war in Basilan.

The Basilan Trap

It was a trap subtly staged by the ASG to foment civil war in Mindanao. ASG leaders have now turned into sophisticated strategists. They know that a war in Mindanao would definitely foment more hatred against the government, and thus, would encourage young Muslims to fight the Kafirs or the Mushrikuns thereby swelling their ranks. During the time of former President Ramos and even at the time of Estrada, the government was able to control their ranks. Now, under the weak leadership of Arroyo, the ASG is beginning to grow once again and flourish.

Lack of Intelligence-sharing

There are some critical intelligence being purposely hidden to the world that would endanger current efforts at countering terrorism in Mindanao. First, the Philippine administration is reluctant to recognize that the ASG is alive and well. Why? Its an embarrassment and obviously would lead to a political scene. Second, the Philippine government tries to appear strong yet, obviously weak and helpless in its fight against terror. Third, it seems that AFP intelligence seems to be getting noise in the ground yet unable to validate them, probably because they lost their embedded “spies”.

Significance of the death of Janjalani

Janjalani signified the old ASG—a ragtag band of ideological misfits formerly military agents. With the group’s alliance with the Jemaah Islamiyah, the ASG has slowly turned into a more spiritual, more mobile and more militant grouping. It silently operates in Mindanao, turning it into a laboratory for bombings, assassinations and military operations. Mindanao, especially Jolo, Basilan and Lanao have been transformed into a huge training camp of ASG fighters under the tutelage of a foreign-trained spiritual leader turned military chieftain. If this government continues to dilly-dally, we might wake up one day and see the ASG as the military backbone of a regional army of militants, wanting to establish a pan-Islamic state.

Weak link in the fight against terror

What’s more, the inability of the Philippine administration to stem the tide of Islamic fundamentalism in the country opens the entire region under the threat of terror. Why? The Philippines is transforming into another Pakistan. In fact, this country has already turned into another Pakistan, yet of the ASEAN kind. The administration is so busy fighting its political wars that it already forgot to beef up its internal security.

If this administration continues to ignore critical intelligence about the ASG, we might find more fighters fighting wars in Thailand, or recruiting Mujaheddins in Malaysia and Indonesia, emanating from Mindanao.

Appeal to the US

The US must step in in Mindanao. Special ops teams must be sent in known ASG lairs and kill these misguided and misbegotten Muslims. True Muslims will definitely support such a move. However, come to think of it, this will just be a mere palliative. It would never really decimate the ASG and their ilk in Mindanao.

What would prevent the spread and growth of terrorism in Mindanao? One possible solution is the establishment of a strong civilian-military government. The US and its allies must support current moves to oust the illegitimate Arroyo administration and replace with a revolutionary government that will not think twice of eradicating these scums from the promised land of Mindanao.

I came to a popular bookstore in Singapore and there I read my very first book on Open Democracy. I was a wonderful read. I then asked myself—can we actually craft a government expousing open democratic principles in the Philippines? Can it be possible?

As a political scientist cum journalist, I believe that it will be quite difficult. Under the present setup of government, open democratic ideals will definitely be met with scorn and even derision by the Filipino elite. Why? There still exist a patronage system in the Philippines where the oligarchs and the aristocrats thrive. This system perpetuates the present setup of rewards and punishment where the poor is always punished and the rich always rewarded. There can never be an equitable system in the Philippines because the very values of the Filipino have been corrupted almost beyond repair. The poor already accepted their fate under this system. They accepted the fact that they are serfs under a modern day neo-feudalist society.

Philippine history has recorded such kind of setup, even prior to the arrival of Western feudalism in the 16th century. Contrary to what the National Democrats believe, this patronage system antedated Spanish colonial rule. We had the alipin saguiguilids and the aliping namamahay, two kinds of serfs or slaves, enjoying none of the privileges and rights of the Maharlika or the Timauwa. The Spaniards thought they already demolished this system. At a surface, probably yes, because there are no alipins right now. However, if you look closely at the psyche of the Filipino, there are still remnants of this system today and it would take a soci0-political revolution to totally eradicate this.

The principles of Open Democracy could work in the Christian areas. However, it would be extremely hard to apply such principles in Mindanao where there are clear hierarchical societal systems in place. Such systems, though some say, is based on Islam, is actually non-Islamic. We can say that it is still an indigenous system hiding under the cloak of Islam.

Open democratic ideals run counter to Islamist principles or even in the indigenous patronage system. Open democracies flourish under Christian domains, never in Muslim countries. Weber wrote in his article about Christian values that capitalism thrives under Christianity because the very notion of open competition is encouraged. Everyone has rights because each one is theoretically, a son of god.

In a sultanate, economic competition is encouraged. However, rights are subsumed under the patronage of the Sultan. This applies even in the concept of a regional Islamic state. In an Islamic state, there are two kinds of citizens: the Muslims and the non-Muslims. Muslims are not taxed—non-Muslims are taxed (jirah). In an open democracy, everyone has to pay taxes, with no exceptions.

There are many things that differentiate these two systems. Now, if we apply these ideals to Mindanao, there is a great possibility that it will be met with extreme opposition because you will destroy the very institutions which have existed even prior to colonial rule. War is inevitable.

Current efforts being made by donor countries in Mindanao provides the answer. Social engineering thru developmental efforts is the answer. The peoples of Mindanao must be assisted first in rehabilitating their homeland. Then, after rehabilitation, Mindanaoans will be very open to this ideal. I have seen it work in other Muslim areas in Mindanao. It is the answer, not war.