Country Report on Terrorism 2014 - Chapter 2 - Philippines

Overview: Counterterrorism cooperation between the Philippines and the United States continued to improve in 2014. Terrorist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jemaah Islamiya (JI), and the Communist People’s Party/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA), were unable to conduct major attacks compared to previous years due to continuous pressure from Philippine counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts. Terrorist groups’ acts included criminal activities designed to generate revenue for self-sustainment, such as kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and bombings for hire. Although Philippines counterterrorism efforts sustained pressure on terrorist organizations, members of these groups were suspected to have carried out attacks against government, public, and private facilities, primarily in the central and western areas of Mindanao; others were linked to extortion operations in other parts of the country. In addition, terrorist and rebel groups in the southern Philippines retained the capability and intent to conduct bomb-making training, small-scale shootings, and ambushes.

The Government of the Philippines made progress in implementing its 2011–2016 Internal Peace and Security Plan that calls for the transition of internal security functions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The increasing role and capability of the police in maintaining internal security in conflict-affected areas will permit the AFP to shift its focus to enhance the country’s maritime security and territorial defense capabilities. To date, however, this transition continued to be slow and ineffective. Continued violent extremist activity, as well as counterterrorism capability gaps between the AFP and PNP, slowed this transition and forced the AFP to continue playing the lead counterterrorism role in the Philippines.

The Philippine government’s Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) creating a new Bangsamoro autonomous government in Mindanao, if successful, paves the way for a peaceful solution to the 40-year-old conflict in Mindanao. The Philippine government hopes to reduce tensions in the South and the political attraction of violent extremist groups by providing greater political and economic autonomy for the predominately Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao. As a result, some of the groups who traditionally were committed to Moro secessionism now either back the peace deal or have splintered into less coherent groups like the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

After the March signing ceremony of the CAB, however, violent clashes with the BIFF continued in central Mindanao, indicating that violent spoilers to a lasting peace remain. At the same time, continued heavy military and police presence in Mindanao and other regions of the country, including active ongoing operations against terrorist groups, including the ASG, JI, the NPA, and other violent extremist groups with ties to terrorists like the BIFF, resulted in displacement and disruption of civilian activities, and in some instances provided impetus for recruiting or fundraising efforts by local terrorist group members.

The Philippine government submitted to Congress draft legislation known as the “Bangsamoro Basic Law” in 2014 to establish a new autonomous government entity in the Southern Philippines, as stipulated by the CAB. However, with several splinter groups – including rogue elements of the MILF, the BIFF, and others – claiming they will not be bound by the law and are unwilling to forsake violence, a number of small-scale terrorist attacks occurred.

The Government of the Philippines recognizes the potential threat posed by radicalized Philippine citizens supporting the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the risk of ISIL elements traveling to the Philippines to promote violent extremism in the country or seek safe haven. Members of numerous groups – including ASG and BIFF – pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014. The Government of the Philippines has condemned the actions of ISIL and other extremist groups in the Middle East, describing their use of violence as a “crime against humanity.” The President’s Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) convened an ad hoc interagency technical working group on persons of interest in conflict areas in July. The working group meets regularly every two to three weeks, and actions taken by this group include tightening passport issuance, increasing Bureau of Immigration screening at major departure points, and dedicating increased resources to monitoring online ISIL-related activity.

2014 Terrorist Incidents: There were dozens of small arms and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, kidnappings for ransom, and extortion efforts by suspected members of terrorist groups in the Philippines in 2014. High-profile incidents included:

• On January 29, an eight-year-old girl and a pregnant woman were injured when a powerful explosion ripped through the public ferry terminal in the town of Datu Piang. The PNP said the bombing was an apparent attack by the BIFF to divert the attention of security authorities involved in an operation to arrest senior group leaders.
• On March 2, 16 individuals, including 11 soldiers and five civilians, were hurt in a landmine explosion that hit a convoy of ambulances in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. The landmine was allegedly planted by NPA guerrillas operating in the area. The convoy was transporting several soldiers reportedly injured in an earlier encounter with the NPA to a local hospital when the landmine detonated and damaged the passing ambulances.
• On May 21, policemen foiled an attempt by as many as 100 NPA communist rebels to take over the town hall of President Roxas city in Cotabato, killing three guerrillas and forcing the rest to retreat. The police chief of President Roxas was wounded in the firefight.
• On May 22, suspected members of the ASG group demanded US $670,194 in exchange for the release of a Chinese businesswoman and her daughter, kidnapped by at least 10 armed men in early May in Isabela City, Basilan.
• On December 9, five people were killed and 42 wounded in an explosion aboard a bus in Bukidnon, Mindanao. Authorities filed charges against Garnet Lintang, a commander of the BIFF operating in Central Mindanao.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The 2007 Human Security Act (HSA) is the principal counterterrorism legislation of the Philippines. The law defines terrorism and provides methods for law enforcement to conduct investigations of terrorist suspects. Many aspects of the law have not been used due to a number of strict procedural requirements in the law, however, including notification to subjects of surveillance before activities can begin and damages of approximately US $12,000 for every day of detention if an individual accused of terrorism is ultimately acquitted.

President Aquino has prioritized the adoption of amendments to the HSA in three main areas: revise the definition of terrorism to conform to international standards; ease the strict monetary penalties and prison terms against law enforcement officials involved in cases where individuals are wrongly accused and later acquitted; and remove barriers to support investigations. The ATC Project Management Center, in coordination with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, ensured the final version of the HSA was fully in line with the Terrorism Financing Prevention Act and other Anti-Money Laundering Act and Philippine government initiatives prior to submission to the House of Representatives.

Units with a specialized counterterrorism focus, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the PNP Special Action Force (SAF), have limited investigations, crisis response, and border security capacity. Multiple agencies have jurisdiction over counterterrorism efforts, creating confusion and inefficiency in leading investigations and in response to terrorism incidents. Roles and responsibilities between law enforcement and military units that have a counterterrorism mission are often not well delineated. Law enforcement units display moderate command and control capacity. Specialized law enforcement units possess some necessary equipment, but have many unfulfilled needs. Law enforcement units have a mixed record of accountability and respect for human rights. The ATC provides guidance to agencies responsible for enforcing terrorism laws, but its capacity and authority to ensure cooperation and coordination between agencies is limited.

The PNP maintains legal responsibility for ensuring peace and security throughout the county, including arresting terrorists and conducting terrorism investigations. In some of the conflict-affected areas, the PNP has relied upon the AFP to conduct counterterrorism operations. The PNP SAF is the national operational support unit for law enforcement counterterrorism efforts. The Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program in the Philippines assisted the PNP’s SAF, Anti-Kidnapping Group, Anti-Cybercrime Group, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal/K9 units by providing counterterrorism-related training and equipment. This assistance strengthened the PNP’s capacity to respond to terrorism-related incidents. In 2014, the ATA program in the Philippines conducted 33 courses with 658 participants, on training platforms both within the Philippines and internationally.

In 2014, the Philippines continued to improve the security of its passports. Three million machine-readable passports remained in circulation at year’s end. In August 2009, the Philippines started to produce "e-passports" containing a biometric chip. Six million Philippine passports in circulation are e-passports, accounting for 65 percent of all valid passports, according to the Philippine Passport Office. At the main international airport in Manila, the Philippines participated in the Interpol Border Management Program.

The first phase of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) was completed in 2014, which included the build-out of the physical AFIS facility at NBI headquarters, and the digitization of 850,000 fingerprint records.

In the area of transportation and port security, the Philippines has committed to align its priorities with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to increase security capabilities at its airports, seaports, and bus terminals. The TSA and USCG have committed a significant amount of technical assistance to the Philippine Office for Transportation Security (OTS). In 2014, TSA conducted a counterterrorism bus exercise with APEC, the U.S. Department of State, and OTS to outline best practices and introduce a risk identification tool for implementation. Additionally, TSA and OTS conducted joint aviation security assessments/inspections at Manila International Airport and Clark International Airport to align policies with international standards, and increase the capacity of OTS oversight personnel. USCG conducted a joint table top exercise at several Philippine seaports, and sponsored a Philippine delegation to observe port security procedures in Seattle, Washington.

In 2014, the United States continued to work with the Government of the Philippines to monitor and investigate groups engaged in or supporting terrorist activities in the Philippines. The government launched numerous operations, particularly in the Southern Philippines, to arrest and disrupt organizations like the ASG, JI, BIFF and NPA. There were a number of ongoing operations against and prosecutions of terrorist suspects that included:

• On January 27, “Operation Darkhorse” was supposed to end after two days. The campaign was extended until February 1 to allow government forces to seize more BIFF facilities, leading to the capture of four BIFF camps and a makeshift explosive factory in Maguindanao. The weeklong offensive left 52 BIFF members and one AFP soldier dead, while injuring 49 BIFF members and 20 AFP soldiers. Eight civilians were also hurt and more than 35,000 were displaced during the operations.
• On April 14, two suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate were killed while six others, including an alleged member of the MILF and a police officer, were captured following a raid and exchange of fire in Zamboanga. The raid was executing an arrest warrant for 12 suspects, but four of them escaped during the shootout.
• On April 29, clashes between government forces and ASG members over control of a jungle training camp in Sulu resulted in 26 casualties, including one AFP Marine. After 10 hours, government forces successfully drove the ASG members from the camp in Sitio Kanjimao, Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul town.
• On June 11, terrorist financier and high-ranking ASG member Khair Mundos was arrested by Philippine authorities in Manila near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Mundos was on trial at year’s end, facing local bombing related charges.
• On June 17, security forces captured two ASG militants in Zamboanga City, including one who was allegedly involved in the 2011 kidnappings of an American teenage boy and his mother, as well as a separate kidnapping of an Australian man in 2011. Philippine Police and Army troops captured Jimmy Nurilla and Bakrin Haris in a raid on their hideout in Sangali village. Nurilla was suspected of being involved in a number of kidnappings, including that of American Kevin Lunsmann, who was 14 when he escaped from his Abu Sayyaf captors in 2011 after five months in captivity in Basilan.
• On June 22, four suspected members of ASG were arrested in separate police and military operations. The four included a suspect in the kidnapping of six Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2002, two of whom were beheaded.
• On July 7, during an operation in Isabela City, Basilan, police intelligence and combat forces captured an ASG suspect linked to the mass abduction of teachers, students, and a Catholic priest 14 years ago. The captured suspect was identified as Salih Ali, also known as Abu Ali, who had a standing warrant for arrest for nine counts of kidnapping.
• On July 11, Philippine authorities in Cebu arrested Australian citizen Musa Cerantonio, a popular pro-ISIL ideologue active on social media, for suspicion he was radicalizing Philippine citizens to join the group. Cerantonio was deported back to Australia.
• On July 14, a court decision was promulgated in a 2003 vehicle-borne improved explosive device attack at the Awang Airport in Cotobato organized by the MILF and JI which resulted in the death of a Philippine Army Sergeant. Five defendants were convicted of murder and attempted murder.
• On October 7, authorities arrested Ricardo Ayeras, Andrescio Valdez, and Ricky Macapagal in Manila on suspicion of plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy in Manila. One of the three suspects, Ayeras, was implicated in the 2003 Maguindanao airport bombing.
• On October 20, troops seized several suspected ASG camps in Patikul, Sulu. The Philippine military kept up the pressure on ASG following the 2013 kidnapping and subsequent release of two German hostages, in which the ASG is suspected to have received a ransom of more than US $5 million.

In 2014, substantive hearings in the prosecution of three defendants – accused of kidnapping two U.S. nationals in Mindanao in 2011 – commenced in Zamboanga. Additionally, substantive hearings continued in 2014 in Cebu in the prosecution of four defendants accused of murdering two U.S. soldiers and one Philippine Marine in an IED attack in Kagay, Jolo, in September 2009.

In 2014, the Philippines continued coordinating with U.S. law enforcement authorities, especially regarding U.S. fugitives and suspected terrorists. In particular, Philippine authorities provided assistance in the U.S. investigation of the kidnapping of two U.S. nationals in Mindanao in 2011. In December 2014, four Philippine nationals were indicted in the United States on conspiracy, hostage-taking, and weapons charges stemming from this kidnapping.

An under-resourced and understaffed law enforcement and judicial system, coupled with widespread official corruption, resulted in limited domestic investigations, unexecuted arrest warrants, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of cases. Philippine investigators and prosecutors lacked necessary tools to build strong cases, including a lack of clear processes for requesting judicially-authorized interception of terrorist communications, entering into plea bargains with key witnesses, and seizing assets of those suspected in benefiting from terrorism.

The Philippines received counterterrorism assistance from Australia, the UK, Canada, and Japan. This work focuses generally on capacity building on investigation, case management, intelligence, and special operations training with the PNP and the AFP.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Philippines is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body and the Egmont Group. In recent years, the Philippines significantly improved its financial regulatory regime and remains focused on effective implementation of international standards.

The U.S. government supported the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the PNP’s Directorate of Intelligence, Anti-Kidnapping Group, and the SAF in successfully forming a Joint Terrorist Financing Investigation Group (JTFIG) in 2014. The JTFIG acts as an “intelligence fusion center” to complement the other intelligence groups tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorist financing. The JTFIG expanded to include the NBI and PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The AMLC has been able to identify, freeze, and obtain forfeiture judgments and writs of execution for bank deposits and real estate assets linked to the International Islamic Relief Organization and the Rajah Sulaiman Movement – both U.S.-designated terrorist groups under E.O. 13224 – with a total estimated value of US $237,000.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 2170, the AMLC has frozen the assets of six members of ISIL and al-Nusrah Front. Under Section 8 of the Terrorist Financing Prevention and Suppression Act, all transactions with the named individuals designated by AMLC are prohibited. The AMLC freezes assets of those listed at the 1267/1989 (al-Qa’ida) and 1988 Taliban sanctions committees through AMLC Resolution TF-01.

Non-profit organizations are not covered institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. There is no single authority for entities in the non-profit sector, making monitoring and coordination of regulatory bodies difficult.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Philippine government representatives participated in several regional events in 2014:

• In May, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) sponsored a workshop in Tagaytay City focused on Combating the Financing of Terrorism.
• In October, the Philippines supported the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Counterterrorism.
• In November, a pioneering project called “Training on Collaborative Intelligence, Investigation, and Prosecution of Terrorism-Related Cases” was implemented with the UNODC to encourage close collaboration among these sectors to ensure successful prosecution of terrorism cases.

Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The Philippine government continued its counter-radicalization program, Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or PAMANA (Resilient Communities in Conflict Affected Communities). During the year, the Philippines worked with the Global Counterterrorism Forum to apply the Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders. Government offices, including the President’s Law Enforcement and Security Integration Office and the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime, led interagency collaboration on countering violent extremism through counter-radicalization and de-radicalization initiatives.

Training on rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders, funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, was provided to 24 experts in the Philippines from different agencies and the private sector.

The Philippine government also continues to support a counter-radicalization program in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facilities housing ASG or other terrorist suspects pending trial.