Phl deserves better security rating, says AFP

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed yesterday that the country deserves a better security rating from Maplecroft, an international risk advisory firm that has ranked the country No. 8 among 16 nations that have been tagged as extreme danger zones prone to terrorist attacks.

Maplecroft’s terror risk index placed Somalia on top of the list, followed by Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestinian Occupied Territories, Colombia, Thailand, the Philippines, Yemen and Russia.

“The country deserves a better rating,” said AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, adding that Maplecroft should support its latest security rating with validated data.

Mabanta said that the country’s No. 8 security rating showed a two-notch improvement compared to the No. 6 rank it received from the same risk advisory firm in its 2008-2009 security assessment.

“We used to be No. 6 in 2008-2009. So this is actually an improvement despite the Maguindanao massacre, the hostage-taking crisis and the current terror hype,” Mabanta said.

Mabanta, however, questioned Maplecroft’s basis in coming out with its latest security risk assessment index, saying that the military doesn’t totally agree with the firm’s findings.

He pointed out that there are other countries that have higher profile on terrorist incidents and there are questions that Maplecroft should answer on why it ranked the Philippines No. 8.

“We don’t agree. We are talking about Yemen (which) is below us, not to mention other countries in Southeast Asia. There are countries that have high profile terrorists incidents,” Mabanta said.

AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu pointed out that the threat of terror has become global and any country worldwide is always a probable target.

He said that what is important is how each country deals with and handles this global security problem.

“I think any country is under threat. The world is threatened but what matters now is how these threats are being dealt with and handled by each state that is under threat,” Mapagu said.

He said that one of the AFP’s efforts in addressing these security concerns is the continuous improvement of the military’s intelligence, operational, and logistical capabilities.

Mapagu added the military also remains focused in going after known local and foreign terrorists like the Abu Sayyaf and members of the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah.

“We are closely monitoring their activities,” Mapagu said as he gave assurance that the AFP is continuously conducting its own validation on the current security situation in the country.