TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Aquino says PH armed groups just jumping on IS bandwagon
Philippines' President Benigno Aquino III listens during the 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov
Change Size
P
span class="inline inline-center">Philippines' President Benigno Aquino III listens during the 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2015. (AP/Joshua Paul)
Has the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) reached the Philippines or are local armed groups just using their name to sow fear among the populace?
President Benigno Aquino III believes it is the latter.
'There are members of the Abu Sayyaf Group who have pledged, all sorts of groups waving the IS flag and claiming that (they) are IS. There are reports that one particular group is about to be recognized. But these groups are known enemies of the state, like the ASG, which used to claim it is part of al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah,' Aquino said during an ambush interview in Bulacan.
'Now that IS is popular, they are claiming to be IS. Tomorrow it might be another group, another name,' he added.
Recent reports cite videos shot in Mindanao by armed groups claiming linkages to the infamous terrorist group.
With the series of attacks in Jakarta linked to the IS, Aquino said the Philippine government had directed a 'hardening of sites' or having stricter security measures.
He said such sites could still be vulnerable and it was important to gain the cooperation of the public.
'The cooperation of the government and the people would ensure our safety. Are there suspicious people in the area? Are there unattended packages?' he said.
Aquino said he met with security officials on Thursday and they did not report any imminent threat.
However, he said it was still better to be cautious and vigilant.
'We've seen the attacks in Paris, in America, in Indonesia; we also receive threats here. But is there a credible threat? None. Is there a general threat? Yes. We are not immune to the problem of extremism,' Aquino said.
Nevertheless, he said law enforcement agencies and intelligence groups were focused on the issue and working to thwart such threats. He said one way to prevent 'radicalization' of people was to give them livelihood.
He said there were two half-Filipinos supposedly being linked to IS but both were born and grew up outside the Philippines.
'Having said that, we have a large population in the Middle East'one to two million. It is said that many have been radicalized through the Internet. Of course we will be prudent and try our best to work with their intelligence agencies and our intelligence agents themselves have been monitoring (Filipino) communities to verify if these are being influenced by IS,' he said. (kes)(+)
