Gullas pushes anti-terror bill

Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas has sought the help of his colleagues in Congress in expediting the passage of a tough new anti-terrorism measure, as he said, that based on a new US government report, the Philippines now has the most number of known terrorist groups, among eight countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Gullas said the US National Counterterrorism Center, the primary office for US government analysis of international terrorism, has listed at least 11 foreign and indigenous terrorist groups now operating in the Philippines.

Listed by the NCTC as terrorist groups operating in the country are the: Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade, Abu Sayyaf Group , Alex Boncayao Brigade, Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, Indigenous People’s Federal Army, Jemaah Islamiya, Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, New People’s Army and al-Qaeda.

Gullas is the principal author of a bill that seeks to define and codify terrorist acts and lift restrictions on evidence-gathering against suspected terrorists. "It has become absolutely imperative for us to pass a forceful and effective anti-terrorism law. Otherwise, we will be left behind by other countries," Gullas said. "There will be dire implications once we get left behind. Terrorist groups fleeing other countries that adopt vigorous new measures will seek refuge here, since we will be perceived as a relatively safer haven," Gullas warned.

Moreover, Gullas hinted that the NCTC’s Worldwide Incidents Tracking System (WITS), made public only in July through the center’s website, documented at least 51 terrorist attacks in the Philippines in 2004. He said the 51 attacks claimed a total of 446 victims: 225 people killed, 215 others injured and six others were taken hostage. The deadliest attack was the bombing of a passenger ship in Manila on Feb. 27, 2004. The attack, which the NCTC blamed on "Islamic extremists (Sunni)," killed 132 people.

From January to May, Gullas said the NCTC has so far posted at least 25 terrorist attacks in the Philippines, but no other details were readily available.

The NCTC lists a total of 786 terrorist groups operating worldwide. Of that number, the center said 36 groups operate in Southeast Asia and Oceania — the region to which the Philippines belongs.

Apart from the Philippines, the other countries in the region and their listed number of terrorist groups are as follows: Indonesia, nine; Malaysia, eight; Cambodia, three; Australia, two; and Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Vietnam, one each. The region with the most number of listed terrorist groups is Western Europe, with 232, followed by the Middle East-Persian Gulf with 134. East-Central Asia has the fewest terrorist groups at 18. North America has 51.