Putting the Crime Back into Terrorism: The Philippines Perspective

Abstract

This paper addresses the multiplicity of terrorism currently experienced within the Philippines. Highlighting the inter-relationship between criminal motivations and acts of terrorism, the Philippines experience emphasizes the notion that underlying much of terrorism is corruption and social equality issues. As a result, relying on traditional responses to address the prevalence of terrorism can have the potential to exacerbate the situation. Rather, in some instances, there are advantages of changing the label of terrorism to crime, to emphasise the criminal motivations, and thus assist in identifying and ultimately addressing the underlying issues.Since the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, the international community has shifted its security focus onto terrorism (Osbourne 2004;Donnelly 2004;Mansurnoor 2005;Zakis 2002). As a result, all terrorist activities have begun to be reviewed in order to pre-empt any international repercussions or threats. One such target for attention is the Philippines whose prevalence of terrorism over the last 35 years has been unrivalled by any other Southeast Asian nation (Manyin et al. 2004; Abuza 2003;Banlaoi 2006;Mansurnoor 2005;Collier and Cook 2006). Referred to as the 'second wave' in the war on terrorism, the Philippines has been linked to international insurgent groups including al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and is seen to be a safe-haven for other groups to easily take refuge, train and embark on other transnational terrorist threats ( PostscriptSince this paper was written, President Arroyo has ordered military restraint in dealing with the MILF, which has included limiting the use of artillery and ariel bombings during military operations (Reuters Foundation 2007b). This latest attempt by the government, to limit the violence being experienced in the Philippines, is aimed at strengthening the peace process between the government and MILF operatives. However, as this paper has already demonstrated, only once the socio-economic and political disparities are addressed will the Philippines be able to move towards long-standing peace.