Phl-US cooperation restricts terrorist activities

WASHINGTON – A strong Phl-US counterterrorism cooperation has reined in the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) from conducting terrorist activities inside the Philippines, the US State Department said.

Their actions were generally limited to criminal activities designed to generate revenue for self-sustainment, such as kidnapping for ransom or extortion, it said in its annual congressionally mandated report.

Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 issued on Thursday welcomed Manila’s move toward a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and said a comprehensive peace pact had the potential to improve peace and security in Mindanao.

Peace panels of the government and the MILF have signed a framework agreement which lays out a roadmap to a comprehensive peace agreement and calls for the creation of a Bangsamoro entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The report said the Philippines maintained its strong counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and coordinated with US law enforcement authorities, especially regarding American fugitives and suspected terrorists.

The State Department’s anti-terrorism assistance program provided tactical and investigative training to support the transition in the southern Philippines from military to civilian counterterrorism authority, it said.

However, an under-resourced and understaffed law enforcement and justice system, coupled with widespread official corruption, resulted in limited domestic investigations, unexecuted arrest warrants, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of cases, the report said.

For instance, a petition filed in 2010 by the Philippine Department of Justice with the regional trial court in Basilan for the proscription of the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group and 202 identified associates as terrorists, was still pending action at year’s end.

The report said numerous islands in the Sulawesi Sea and the Sulu archipelago make it a difficult region for authorities to monitor.

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have improved efforts to control their shared maritime boundaries, including through the US-funded Coast Watch South radar network, but the expanse remains difficult to control.

The report said the high volume of global trade that ships through Southeast Asia and inadequate maritime law enforcement and security capabilities make the region an area of concern for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.