A large and growing case backlog and the absence of continuous trials for terrorism cases are major impediments to the Philippines’ prosecution of suspected terrorists."

At the same time, it said “Southeast Asia remained a major front in the global war on terror, and continued to be an attractive theater of operations for regional terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiya (JI). One reason is that the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos provide one of the ”most intractable safe havens" for terrorists in Southeast Asia.

Focus of the terrorists report on the Philippines was the almost simultaneous Valentine’s Day bombings in Manila, Davao, and General Santos City in 2005 which involved operatives from all three entities and resulted in eight deaths and 150 injuries.

More worrisome, it said, was that the bombers also used more technically sophisticated explosive devices. “The RSM, composed of Christian converts to Islam, has the ability to blend in and move freely about Luzon and other urban areas of the Philippines. The Philippines experienced another domestic terrorist attack in August when a bomb exploded aboard the Dona Rosa passenger ferry in Basilan, injuring 30 people, four of whom subsequently died.”

But the report also cited the successes of Philippine authorities in its war on terrorism. It noted that in October, 2005 they arrested several members of the ASG-affiliated Rajah Sulaiman Movement, including RSM leader Ahmad Santos, and the arrest in December of RSM’s alleged second-in-command and operations chief, Pio de Vera.

It continued:

“The Antiterrorism Task Force (ATTF) arrested, captured, or killed 83 suspected terrorists. In March, it coordinated operations that led to the seizure of 600 kilos of ammonium  nitrate and other bomb making materials stored in an apartment in Quezon City in the metropolitan Manila area.“

As for convictions of terrorists, it said that in June, a Philippine court convicted seven members of the Abu Sayyaf Group responsible for the Dos Palmas kidnapping, the Lamitan siege, the Golden Harvest massacre, and the Balobo massacre, which all took place in the Southern Philippines in 2001. In October, a court convicted RSM operative Angelo Trinidad, JI operative Rohmat (aka Zaki), and ASG operative Gamal Baharan for their roles in the February 14 triple-city bombings.

Among key ASG figures killed during armed encounters with the Philippine armed forces were Wedjimeh Sayad and Ahmad Sabudin, operatives serving under ASG sub-leader Jundam Jamalul;  Jainal Usman, a senior ASG lieutenant who was behind the abduction of six Malaysian resort workers in 2003 along with two subordinates, Faizal Mohammad and Pula Ali."

It said the Philippines’ successes in the anti-Money Laundering campaign had resulted in the OECD’s removal of the country from the list of Non-cooperative countries.

Philippine military and law enforcement at the regional and provincial level worked closely with U.S. Embassy counterparts and visiting military personnel to ensure antiterrorism force protection to more than 25 annual U.S.-Philippine bilateral military events conducted throughout the country.

The State Department said it is in the process of establishing an in-country Antiterrorism Assistance Program to improve the capability of government agencies to respond to terrorist threats.  The Australian-funded Bomb Data Center for the Philippine National Police also provided a new and important resource for investigating terrorist attacks.

U.S. and Philippine authorities worked closely to continue the Rewards for Justice programs targeting terrorist groups. Using its Rewards Program, the USG made a number of payments ranging from $2,500 to $50,000 to informants who played critical roles in the capture of JI and ASG terrorists. The U.S. Department of Defense also made two in-kind payouts under the rewards program in July, valued at $1,000 and $2,500, respectively.

Under USAID’s multi-year LEAP (Livelihood Enhancement and Peace) program, 28,000 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants were successfully integrated into the economic mainstream.

Border management in the Philippines struggles under the pressures of poor physical and information technology infrastructure, and insufficient capital and human resources. Understaffed customs and immigration offices, manned by undertrained and “Southeast Asia remained a major front in the global war on terror, and continued to be an attractive theater of operations for regional terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiya (JI).

The report noted that while the governments in Southeast Asia have been reliable partners in the global war on terror, they faced challenges. “Geography makes effective border control problematic for archipelagic states like  Indonesia and the Philippines. Terrorists continued to adapt their tactics as well. Because terrorism in Southeast Asia is a transnational problem, capacity building in a regional context emerged as a priority, in addition to the need for national capacity building.”

It said the US is working with these governments to cut off these safe havens by undertaking coordinated action through bilateral, regional and multilateral institutions.

In addition to these intractable safe havens, the report said “corruption, poverty, a lack of civic institutions and social services, and the perception that law enforcement and legal systems are biased or brutal are conditions that terrorists exploit to create allies or to generate a permissive operating environment.”

That is why, it said, “the United States is building trusted networks that undermine, marginalize, and isolate the enemy, discredit the terrorist ideology of hate and violence, and empower legitimate alternatives to extremism.”

It added this was the reason the US is working with its many partners around the world “to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.”

The Philippines is among the beneficiaries of the Antiterrorism Assistance Program (ATA) which provides partner countries the training, equipment, and technology they need to improve their ability to combat terrorism.

“ATA programs seek to address specific needs of partner nations, such as increasing capabilities to find and arrest terrorists, and to build the kind of cooperation and interactivity between law enforcement officers that has a lasting impact,” it added. (A.M.Alfaro)

By Bing C. Branigin