Abu Sayyaf still bandits

The Abu Sayyaf are now considered as "Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists". Whatever you call them, they are plain bandits. The Al-Qaeda is merely using them to inflict terror in the community. But the Abu Sayyaf exist for only one purpose — to make money by demanding ransom for the hostages they capture.

The sad part is that a handful of terrorists have succeeded in keeping 60 percent of our Armed Forces busy in Mindanao, not to mention the American forces linked with the Balikatan exercises. Only yesterday, there was a report that the US Marines allegedly involved in a six-month joint training exercises in Mindanao underwent its baptism of fire against the Abu Sayyaf. Fortunately, no one was killed or wounded.

On the very same day, suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits intercepted an Indonesian tugboat and abducted four of its crewmen. If reports are true, this means that the Abu Sayyaf now, again, have foreign hostages. By now, they know that there is no ransom for hostages. Their only use is to protect them from attacks by our Armed Forces. But even this is contradictory because the Armed Forces precisely go after them to rescue their captives.

If a handful of bandits can keep our Armed Forces plus an American contingent busy in Mindanao, you can imagine what it would take if other bandits in our 7,100 islands followed their example. Our Armed Forces was organized to protect us from external aggression. Today, our army, navy and marines seem to be useless against the Abu Sayyaf. Our police force has been nationalized. They are no longer under individual municipalities. But they are also redundant insofar as the Abu Sayyafs are concerned.

The message is clear. It is not how large our army or police force that determines their efficacy; it is their efficiency. And so far, they have been next to useless in coping with the Abu Sayyaf. If there were another Abu Sayyaf group operating in Mindanao and a third one in Luzon, we would not have enough soldiers and policemen to handle the problem.

The bandits who captured four Indonesian hostages are suspected to be Abu Sayyaf bandits. If they are not, it means we have a second bandit group to contend with in Mindanao. They say that nothing succeeds like success. In fairness, we cannot say that the Abu Sayyafs have been successful in raising ransom. The American and administration policy of not paying any ransom for hostages is sound. By now, bandit groups should know that there is no money in taking hostages. Still, the problem will not truly end till they are either annihilated or captured and brought to justice. That is the real challenge we face. And only our Armed Forces and police can make that a reality.