PHILIPPINE COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY

DR. ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Conference on Counter-Terrorism Cooperation
Jakarta, Indonesia, March 5-6, 2007  

At the outset, let me thank our hosts, Indonesia and Australia , for organizing this important and timely conference on counter terrorism cooperation.   

A good friend of ASEAN, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer observed before coming here, that support for terrorism in Southeast Asia has declined.  This, undoubtedly, is the result of both national and regional efforts, which underscores the importance of this conference as a venue to exchange ideas and experiences.   

Our co-chairmen, Foreign Ministers Wirajuda and Downer however remind us, we still have a long way to go.  

9/11  

For its part, the Philippines was confronting the terrorist threat even before the 9/11 attacks galvanized the world to action.  Following 9/11, the Philippines helped mobilize the initial regional reaction.  In May 2002, we led the initiative to conclude a trilateral agreement with Indonesia and Malaysia to combat terrorists.  The agreement was subsequently expanded to include Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Cambodia .  

We have drawn the line against terrorism in the region – effectively blocking the aspirations of extremists to establish a pan-Asian caliphate – and preventing the spread of extremism and terror to the rest of the Asia Pacific.  

ABU SAYYAF GROUP (ASG)  

In our counter-terrorism campaign, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) posed a particularly dangerous threat for two major reasons.   

First, it was the most thoroughly radicalized, violent, and aggressive of the terrorist groups.  Second, it had, in the early years, the strongest connection to Al Qaeda and its affiliated Al Jemaah Al Islamiyah (JI) terror network.

THREE PILLARS OF PHILIPPINE COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY  

The ASG, therefore, became the main focus of Philippine counter-terrorism policy.  

This policy rests on three major pillars.   

The first is to pursue a broad, comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, with both “hard” and “soft” components.  

The “hard” components are aimed at neutralizing the armed capabilities of the terrorists, decimating their leadership, disintegrating their organizational networks, stopping their finances, and cutting their links to foreign support.  

The “soft” components, on the other hand, focus on separating the terrorists from the rest of the population, addressing the humanitarian and development needs of the latter, reducing the ideological attractiveness of the terrorists, and promoting inter-faith dialogue and other forms of consultation to strengthen trust, understanding and confidence between communities and sectors.  

The second pillar is to pursue the peace process unswervingly.  In 1996, the Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a final peace agreement.  This brought an end to the decades-long conflict with the MNLF.   

Indonesia played a key and indispensable role in the forging of this cornerstone agreement.  

Now we have a peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that also seeks a final peace accord.  In this regard, the Philippines deeply appreciates the support and facilitation that Malaysia has given to the MILF peace process.   

A peace agreement with the MILF will be a major boon, not only for the Philippines , but also for the region as a whole.  

The third pillar is to forge strong counter-terrorism cooperation with our partners in ASEAN and beyond.   

Terrorism is a global problem.  No country can defeat it alone.  Hence, bilateral, regional, and international cooperation is absolutely vital for our common security.  

The Philippines has taken aggressive measures against the ASG under each of these three pillars.   

THE FIRST PILLAR:  “HARD” AND “SOFT” COMPONENTS  

The “hard” component of the comprehensive strategy now centers on OPLAN “Ultimatum,” which is flushing the ASG out of its last lairs in Sulu.  

We have decimated the ASG’s top leadership. Most of its senior leaders have been eliminated.  These include, most recently:

• Khadafy Janjalani (nominal leader of the ASG) 
  

• Jainal Antel Sali, a.k.a. Abu Solaiman (finance officer and key ASG planner)
  

• Jumdam Jamalul, a.k.a. Black Killer
  

• Binang Sali, a.k.a. Freedom  

Other notable terrorists neutralized or apprehended include: 

• Ahmed Santos, a Filipino Christian convert to Islam, founder of the terrorist Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) composed of converts, with links to the ASG, now in jail
  

• Malik Alimuddin, RSM member, bombing co-conspirator of Khaddafy Janjalani and Ahmed Santos, who later agreed to turn state’s witness
  

• Fathur Rahman Al-Ghozi, JI bombmaker, who escaped from jail but was subsequently killed by Philippine police
  

• Agus Diwarkina, another major JI bombmaker, captured in the Philippines
  

• The notorious ASG leader and spokesperson Aldam Tilao, a.k.a. Abu Sabaya, killed in an encounter .
  

We have destroyed the large terrorist training camps that had been set up by JI and ASG.  Philippine intelligence estimates that while there is still some training, it is on a much smaller and fragmented scale.  

Cell-based terrorist activity takes place in virtually every region of the world.  The terror attacks in the United States , Spain , and the United Kingdom , and the disruption of planned attacks in Australia and Canada , to name a few, only underscore our common vulnerability to such fanatical home-grown terrorist cells.  

Terrorists have also made use of the internet and television to spread their gospel of violence.  Countering hate propaganda from the terrorists should be a focus of counter-terrorism effort as well.  

Better law enforcement is also critical for a strong counter-terrorism effort.  Last month, the Philippine Congress finally passed the Human Security Act of 2007, which now arms us with stronger anti-terrorism legislation.   

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign this legislation into law tomorrow.  Swift executive action on this important initiative reflects the high importance the President places on defending Philippine democracy and freedom.   

Even before the passage of this law, the Philippines had secured 24 convictions against terrorists, which is one of the best national conviction rates anywhere in the world today.  

Aggressive action has been taken against financial support for terrorists.  The Philippines now has in place much strengthened anti-money laundering legislation against terrorist financing.  

Abroad, the ASG financial network suffered a major setback with the arrest last year by the Royal Malaysian Police of Mohammad Hatta Haipe and Burhan Mundus.  

The U.S. Treasury Department dealt another blow when it designated last year the Philippine and Indonesian branches of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) as entities that have assisted the fundraising efforts of al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups.  

With its leadership and organization in disarray, and with no apparent successor willing or able to succeed Khaddafy Janjalani in the top post, the ASG is now on the run.   

We continue to hunt foreign terrorists, most notably Umar Patek and Dulmatin, two JI operatives involved in the Bali Bombings.   

Most importantly, the ASG has lost almost all backing from among the local population.  The people are tired of war.  They want the peace and progress that years of conflict have denied them.  Umar Patek and Dulmatin are on the run in Sulu, where our focused military operations are supported by the people, who have realized that providing sanctuary to terrorists has caused suffering for the Islamic community or Ummah.  

On the “soft” side of our counter-terrorism strategy, OPLAN “Ultimatum” has increasingly isolated the ASG and its other terrorist cohorts from the people though humanitarian and civic action.   

Our earlier operations in Basilan against the ASG in 2002, contained a strong socio-civic component that succeeded in attracting the people to support the government.   

OPLAN “Ultimatum” has adopted the same humane approach in Sulu.  Providing medical services, improving roads and infrastructure, building school houses, water systems and community centers, and other actions, underlined the benefits of peace.   

The Filipino Muslim community is also a central actor in the common defense against radical and extremist beliefs propagated by terrorists.  Recently, Muslim religious leaders in Cotabato, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Marawi City , Sulu and Tawi-Tawi together prepared a series of talks to denounce terrorism as un-Islamic.  

Another area of advance against extremism is in education.  The estimated 800 Philippine madaris, or Islamic schools, are now under the supervision of our Department of Education.  They are now in the educational mainstream, government support for them has improved, and they are better protected from extremist interpretations of Islam which foster terrorism.  

The Philippines ’s advocacy of interfaith dialogue – at local, national, regional and international levels – has strengthened avenues for cooperation and understanding.  We will continue interfaith cooperation for peace and development with all interested partners.  

SECOND PILLAR: PEACE PROCESS  

On the second pillar, the peace process in Mindanao , our efforts to secure a negotiated peace continues without let up.  Despite some delay, we are pressing forward in the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.   

The GRP-MILF ceasefire has held for three years.  The leadership of Malaysia in the International Monitoring Team (IMT), with the participation of Brunei Darusslam, Libya and now Japan as a development partner, has been most important in maintaining the ceasefire.   

Assistance for conflict resolution, post-conflict rehabilitation and development from Australia , Canada , Japan , the EU members, New Zealand , the United States and others, remains crucial for fostering the climate for continued talks.  

THIRD PILLAR: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION  

On the third pillar, international cooperation, the Philippines has developed links covering the entire spectrum of counter-terrorism.   We will deepen defense, intelligence, law enforcement and anti-terrorist financing cooperation with our foreign partners.   

We will join our fellow neighboring ASEAN members, including Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand , to interdict terrorist movements and activities through, among other things, maritime and border patrols, intelligence sharing, and closer police work.   

Besides interdicting terrorist movements, such cooperation can also deter other transnational crimes, such as piracy, poaching, smuggling, and human trafficking.  

In this connection, we welcome intensified counter-terrorism dialogue and cooperation with Australia , China , Japan , the United States and other partners to enhance our counter-terrorism capabilities and those of the region.   

We will encourage the same collaboration in regional and multilateral bodies, including ASEAN’s Dialogue Partnerships, the ARF, APEC, and the United Nations.   

ASEAN CONVENTION ON COUNTER-TERRORISM (ACCT)  

Last January, in Cebu , we also signed the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism (ACCT), ASEAN’s first legally-binding agreement against terrorism.  The Convention provides a regional framework for counter-terrorism cooperation among law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities.  It shows ASEAN’s firm resolve in combating the scourge of terror.  

We will also move forward with other regional initiatives, including having all ASEAN members sign the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, and negotiate an ASEAN Extradition Treaty.  

We will continue with Oplan “ULTIMATUM” until we have eliminated the ASG in Sulu.   

MINDANAO  

We will continue with programs to support peace and development in Mindanao .  For this purpose, we have enlisted both bilateral cooperation with Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, the European Union and others, as well as multilateral assistance including the World Bank-administered Mindanao Trust Fund.  

There are signs of economic recovery in areas of conflict with the ASG over the three years that the MILF ceasefire has held.   

Investment in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) grew 12 percent in the first semester of 2006.  In 2005, the Zamboanga Peninsula posted a GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent, the highest among the country’s regions.  

Muslim Mindanao will remain a special focus of Philippine development efforts.  Last week, the World Bank-led Mindanao Working Group (MWG) met in Davao to discuss how to increase and integrate assistance for Mindanao , especially in conflict-affected areas.   

Mindanao will also be a major agenda item at the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) where the Philippine Government and the international donor community will meet in Cebu later this week.  

In addition, we are encouraging our friends in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to support Islamic education and exchanges with Muslim communities in Mindanao .  The intention is to expose Filipino Muslims to mainstream Islamic expressions, especially in Malaysia , Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, our good neighbors who have been successful in their modernization.  

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE  

We will continue to promote inter-faith dialogue in order to bridge different communities of faith within and between nations. We will participate at the Third Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue, at Waitangi , New Zealand this coming May, and at the Third ASEM Interfaith Dialogue in Nanjing , China , this coming June.   

We also invite our overseas partners to draw lessons from and support our local inter-faith dialogue initiatives.  Our homegrown Bishops-Ulema Conference, for example, has been an effective force for conflict avoidance and confidence-building.  Closer links with similar endeavors in other nations at the local level may prove mutually rewarding.  

Interfaith dialogue also supports the thrust of President Arroyo to enhance national respect for the culture and traditions of the Filipino Muslim community.  Along these lines, the President made Eid ul-Fitr, the feast which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, into a national holiday in 2002.  

PEACE PROCESS WITH MILF  

Finally, as we pursue the peace process with the MILF, with Malaysia facilitating the talks, we will advance towards our ultimate goal of a final negotiated peace agreement.   

A peace agreement will be a setback for the ASG and other terrorists that want to exploit local conflict.  

The cooperation of Australia , Canada , Japan , EU members, the United States and others will be important in terms of supporting the development dimension of the peace process.   

The best move, at this stage, would be to bring forward as much development assistance as possible to benefit conflict-affected areas of Mindanao .   

An aggressive forward assistance approach, including new programs, should cover the broad needs of conflict areas in Mindanao , from rebel returnee integration to heavy infrastructure development.   

Early assistance will help encourage an early conclusion of the peace talks.  The new JICA initiative providing $3 million for social and economic projects in Mindanao ’s conflict areas supports this approach.  

Let me also state clearly that the Philippines will pursue the terrorists with vigor and determination, but not at the expense of human rights or the rule of law.   

The Philippines is a democracy.  Filipinos are ever mindful that their freedom is built on democratic values.  We will not give the terrorists a victory by abandoning them.  

The Philippines will remain at the forefront of the international drive to contain and defeat terrorism.  We will do so in close partnership with you, our neighbors and our friends in the international community.  We will join you to mobilize regional and international bodies for this purpose as well.  

At the end of the day, we must help one another to face down terrorism, the central threat of our age.  I have no doubt that we will rise in unison to defeat this threat to our security, our freedoms, and our way of life.  

Thank you.

/jay

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