Babe's Eye View article

What’s with the special trip of CIA director Leon Panetta to Manila today? And mind you, right after the visit of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month. Obviously, the reason is the major concern of the United States over what’s going on in the Philippines.

It’s no secret the Philippines has been tagged as a “terrorist haven” in the past. Even former US Embassy charge d’affaires (currently Assistant Chief of Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan) Joseph Mussomeli had commented that Mindanao is becoming the new “Mecca” for terrorism and that the Philippines could become the next Afghanistan. Obviously, Joe Mussomeli won’t dare say those things on his own without having the go signal from the State Department.

But one of the most serious concerns by international law enforcement agencies is that the Philippines is slowly becoming a narcotics haven, with drug smugglers using our porous borders as transshipment points. The Alabang Boys is only the tip of the iceberg. The problem in this country is far more serious with this P1-billion-a-day drug industry. Convicted Pasig “shabu tiangge” operator Amin Imam Boratong is just small fry. There is a big syndicate operating out there with very strong connections to very powerful people—something which has already been exposed on so many occasions including the infamous Hayden Kho senate hearings. I cannot even begin to imagine who these people are.

No matter how much the administration insists that this is just an ordinary visit by Panetta, this is definitely not an ordinary stopover. The US has very strong policy about countries like the Philippines where the potential for terrorism and drugs is high. These two are transnational crimes whose combination could be lethal and could affect the interest and safety of the US. It’s a well-known fact that drug money is being used to fund terrorist activities. These are probably the reasons why the CIA chief is coming today.

It’s no secret that Kristie Kenney goes to Mindanao almost every other week not only to make sure that development projects are strictly implemented but to also emphasize the importance the US gives to Mindanao. A report by the Council on Foreign Relations says Mindanao has “long been a breeding ground for terrorist activity,” with al-Qaeda operatives channeling their influence through the Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf. The “rugged terrain, weak rule of law, a sense of grievance among the Muslim minority and poverty” are cited as reasons for the government’s difficulty in successfully rooting out militant organizations. The increased collaboration between the JI, ASG and major MILF commands has given rise to concerns that the Philippines continues to be “vulnerable to penetration” by extremist groups like the al-Qaeda.

Experts say al-Qaeda has “professionalized” local terrorist groups and strengthened cooperation between them—from weapons and explosives procurement, training, planning and operations to funding. Mindanao has been tagged as a terrorist safe haven—an assessment roundly rejected by the Philippine military despite an admission by some officials that local rebels have been giving refuge to foreign militants, making the work doubly difficult during manhunt operations.

According to Col. William Coultrup, US commander for the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines, the top goal of American soldiers is to deny sanctuary to foreign terrorists and prevent them from using Mindanao as a training ground and a safe haven. A lot of US effort has been geared toward humanitarian assistance projects to discourage locals from supporting terrorist groups. But while Gates had reiterated US commitment to help the Philippines in its fight against extremists that threaten the country and the ASEAN region, support has been largely limited to intelligence sharing, training and coordination. But then again, what we really need are honest-to-goodness military hardware (not old Hueys and almost obsolete equipment).

The recent bombings in Mindanao will push back economic development, with businessmen in Cotabato closing shop to express their condemnation against terrorist attacks. The violence has also prompted the UN to suspend its feeding program in Mindanao, while the USAid slashed aid to the Philippines by nearly $4 million. Although the US is concerned about our situation, we can’t keep looking to them for succor since they, too, have their own problems like rising unemployment, a record budget deficit and a weakened economy due to the recession.

Perhaps our best bet now is China which has shown willingness to partner with the Philippines despite several projects having been put on hold over corruption allegations. In fact, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile recently met with Liu Qi, a senior member of the Communist Party of China who was here for a two-day visit. China committed $2.1 billion in infrastructure project assistance through a five-year RP-China Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation loan agreement—which is probably the right step towards strengthening economic relations between our two countries.

But at the end of the day, the overriding concern of law enforcement agencies should focus on stopping the drug trade and containing terrorist activities in Mindanao, which seems to be showing renewed intensity nowadays. As Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said, we should just shut up and do what needs to be done. Nowadays, talk is cheap. Our troops on the ground are under-equipped, and we need more hardware to fight the ever-increasing criminal activities of terrorists and drug traders. We cannot allow ourselves to be perennially labeled as the land of terror, and the land of the free-trade of drugs. Filipinos don’t deserve this.