'WikiLeaks report on Phl as terror breeding ground outdated'

MANILA, Philippines –  The Department of National Defense (DND) claimed yesterday that the WikiLeaks report which stated that the Philippines is the new haven for terrorists may be outdated.

DND spokesman Eduardo Batac said that the alleged report, which was quoted by several media entities this week, was dated 2008.

“It’s an old issue. If you look at the report, if there is really a report since this has not been verified, it is dated 2008. When you talk of 2008, it is already an outdated report,” Batac told The STAR.

Batac said the Philippines is not a breeding ground of terrorists and stressed that security forces have achieved gains in curbing extremist groups.

“I don’t think it is happening. You’re looking at the Philippines as an island nation. Being so, we can detect their (terrorists) activities,” the DND spokesman said.

“We are able to contain them.”

Batac, nevertheless, said authorities are continuously exercising vigilance to thwart possible atrocities and violent activities.

“We still maintain our alertness and have continued to adopt security measures to prevent terrorist actions. We know that nowadays, the terrorist threat can happen anywhere in the world at anytime,” he said.

“It’s very important that the Philippine government especially the Defense Department and, for that matter, the whole Filipino people be alert when it comes to terrorists.”

According to the supposed WikiLeaks messages cited by the media, United States diplomats in Australia had described southern Philippines as a “favored tilling ground of international terror network al-Qaeda.”

Australian intelligence agency Office of National Assessments was quoted as saying that the breakdown of peace efforts in southern Philippines has made the area a “new regional incubator of terrorist jihadis.”

The reports were allegedly based on leaked cable messages in 2008, the year negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government were halted.

Talks between the government and the MILF collapsed after the Supreme Court (SC) struck down as unconstitutional the controversial memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in 2008.

The agreement would have formed a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, which would have expanded the area of the Auto-nomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The SC ruling prodded some rogue MILF commanders to launch attacks against civilians in various parts of Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato and Sarangani. Hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed during the atrocities.