‘Improved Philippine ranking in terror index shows waning insurgency’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ improved ranking in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) proves that the government is “on the right track” in fighting insurgency, the National Security Council (NSC) said yesterday.

The Philippines is the 18th most affected by terrorism among 163 countries in this year’s edition of the GTI, a report produced by think tank Institute for Economics and Peace that analyzes the impact of terrorism worldwide.

While the country’s ranking improved from 17th last year, it was the second most affected country in Asia, second only to Myanmar.

The GTI assesses each country using a zero to ten scale, with higher values reflecting higher impact of terrorism. The Philippines’ latest score is 6.328 or “medium impact.”

“We welcome with great enthusiasm and optimism the latest results of the Global Terrorism Index released by the Institute for Economic and Peace showing a much improved ranking for the Philippines at 18th place for the year 2022 compared to being in the top 10 countries worst affected by terrorism several years ago,” the NSC said in a statement.

“This could only mean one thing: That the Philippine government is on the right track and by that we shall continue all counter-insurgency efforts we started years back, focusing mainly on our local peace initiatives and good governance espoused by NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) under the guidance of our chairman, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” it added.

The NTF-ELCAC, which was formed under former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, seeks to provide “an efficient mechanism and structure” that will implement a whole-of-nation approach in achieving “inclusive and sustainable peace.”

The NSC said the better ranking was a testament to the Philippine government’s “unrelenting resolve to address the root causes of insurgency.” It cited the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the creation of NTF-ELCAC, the “aggressive campaign” in preventing and countering violent extremism and the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

“While it may be true that the Philippines remains to date as the second ‘most impacted country’ by terrorism in Southeast Asia, the 2022 GTI noted that the Philippines recorded its lowest level of terrorism since the inception of the GTI,” the council said.

According to the NSC, the Philippines previously languished in the top ten list of countries battered by terrorism, along with war-torn states like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

“Such notoriety, according to the same reports, was due to the atrocities mostly committed by the communist terrorist group New People’s Army and armed groups affiliated with known international terrorist organizations,” the NSC said.

Citing GTI data, the NSC pointed out that from 2011 to 2020, the Philippines had hovered around the tenth spot in the index until it showed great improvements for the years 2021 (16th place) and 2022 (18th place).

The NSC said the Philippines’ ranking worsened between 2016 and 2017 when the country dropped from 12th place to 10th place, a development it attributed to “atrocious attacks” launched by communist rebels.

Despite the country’s better ranking, the NSC admitted that its work is “far from over.”