Part Two
IF the terrorists grew and became strong in Mindanao, to the point that they could now directly challenge the military, as it is now in the case of the Maute-ISIS Group, blame no one but the government because of its complacency and, may be, even of its ineptitude.
For years since it began dealing with the terrorist groups, the government has taken the “reactive”, rather than the “proactive” stance, by only operating against these groups when its forces are encountered, allowing them to employ the “attack-and-withdraw” scheme.
Other than failing to sustain military operations, the state has also failed to stop the flow of funds to the terrorists, along with their fund-raising activities and their procurement of high-powered firearms, with reports even pointing to some misguided members of the military as the source.
In the case of the Maute—whose affiliation with the ISIS has been the subject of a continuous report, and therefore implies financial support from the Arab-based group—it has been the subject of an “on and off” operation in Butig and Pia Gapo in Lanao del Sur, until it bounced back with the rebellion in Marawi City.
No less than President Duterte had been amazed with the massive firepower of the Maute, something that the military was supposed to only have.
Funding sources
IN procuring firearms and in funding their operations, including recruitment of members, the terrorist groups have to rely for money that is being sourced in different ways, but which have not principally changed through the years.
In “The Evolution of Terrorist Financing in the Philippines”, former police intelligence chief Rodolfo B. Mendoza said terrorist organizations in the country have been raising funds through kidnap-for-ransom activities, extortion and zakat.
Likewise, the groups—including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)—were getting their money through non-governmental organizations, being used as fronts by “radical” Islamic groups and even by wealthy Arabs who buys their ideologies.
“In organizations such as the MILF and the ASG, which claim to struggle for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, zakat contributes a lot in the advancement of their programs, the procurement of firearms and in providing financial support for the families of their members and other livelihood programs,” Mendoza said.
Zakat is the Islamic practice of giving alms to the poor and needy.
“Zakat collected annually from Mindanao and Saudi Arabia is of great value to the MILF and ASG. Millions of pesos goes to the treasury of these organizations, although the annual collection would differ every year,” he added.
Drug-fueled terror
MENDOZA said that, aside from the zakat collected from Filipino Muslim workers in Saudi Arabia, the ASG also received alms from wealthy Arabs who were convinced that the ASG is in pursuit of jihad.
“The MILF is more organized, well-oriented and more active in the collection of zakat than the ASG. The MILF has supporters all over the Middle East and Malaysia, while the ASG has not established a support group in other countries except Saudi Arabia,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza claimed that during the time of Abdurajak Janjalani, the late founder of the ASG, residents of Sulu and Basilan were forced to give zakat to the group.
“The ASG also organized a group tasked to collect donations during Friday congregational prayers and the money would be spent in the procurement of ammunitions, medicines and military supplies,” he added.
From 1992 up to 2007, the ASG was estimated to have earned at least P20 million from zakat, according to Mendoza.
In the case of the Maute, the group is reported to have principally received its funding from the ISIS. Local drug lords also contributed to the group’s operational coffers as claimed by Duterte. The latter intelligence data prompted him to declare the siege of Marawi was a drug-fueled terrorism.
Kidnap for ransom
ASIDE from alms, terrorist groups, especially the ASG, have been raising their monetary requirement from the conduct of kidnap-for- ransom activities, with the victims being killed if their relatives would refuse to pay the ransom.
Then and now, this is apparently the best source of funds for the ASG and other groups, which have already earned billions of pesos out of their kidnapping activities.
In the early years that the ASG has resorted to this criminal act, it was merely content with snatching locals from Mindanao and even foreigners who happen to saunter in the south.
However, the group has taken bolder steps by going into forays into Sabah, wherein it took victims, brought them to Mindanao and negotiated for ransom. It has also perfected the art of snatching sailors at sea, with most of the victims Indonesians, Malaysians and Vietnamese.
The government, however, has lately stopped these acts. Mendoza said that from 1992 up to 2007, the ASG was believed to have earned P1.4 billion in kidnapping, noting that the abduction of 20 people in 2000 alone earned the terrorist group almost a billion pesos.
A report also said that the ASG earned through kidnapping more than P300 million during the first six months of last year.
No less than Duterte said, in August last year, that former kidnap victim Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad was freed out of a P50-million ransom.
To be concluded