(Logo taken from NSC FB page)
MANILA – The National Security Council (NSC) on Monday said it welcomes the latest results of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) which placed the Philippines at 18th place in countries impacted by terrorism in 2022.
"We welcome with great enthusiasm and optimism the latest results of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) released by the Institute for Economic and Peace (IEP) showing a much improved ranking for the Philippines at 18th place for the year 2022 compared to being in the top 10 countries worst affected by terrorism several years ago," the NSC said in a statement read by Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya during the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) online press conference Monday.
This development is a statement to the Philippine government’s unrelenting resolve to address the root causes of insurgency through the implementation of landmark measures such as the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the creation of the NTF-ELCAC under Executive Order No. 70, our aggressive campaign in preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE), and the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act, among others.
"Since the GTI’s inception a decade ago, the Philippines languished in the top 10 list of countries battered by terrorism, along with war-torn states like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. Such notoriety, according to the same reports, was due to the atrocities mostly committed by the communist terrorist group New People’s Army (NPA) and armed groups affiliated with known international terrorist organizations," the NSC said.
An in-depth study of the trend in GTI data would show that from 2011 to 2020, the country hovered around the 10th spot in the index until it showed great improvements in its GTI for the years 2021 (16th place) and 2022 (18th place).
The 2022 Index was released only in March this year. The GTI provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last decade.
The calculation of the GTI score considers not only deaths but also incidents, hostages and injuries from terrorism, weighted over a five-year period. This means that when the Index was first released in 2012, it included event records on terrorist attacks since January 2007.
Ergo, the GTI report for 2022 reflected terrorist atrocities over the past five years.
The GTI defines terrorism as “the systematic threat or use of violence, by non-state actors, whether for or in opposition to established authority, with the intention of communicating a political, religious or ideological message to a group larger than the victim group, by generating fear and so altering (or attempting to alter) the behavior of the larger group.’’
"Following this definition, the GTI declared the communist terrorist group NPA as the 'Top 15th Deadliest Terrorist Organization In The World', an apt description for a group that has sown nothing but death, destruction and bloodshed in the country for over five decades. This global notoriety is shared by the NPA with the Islamic State, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, to name a few," the NSC said.
And while it may be true that the Philippines remains to date as the second “most impacted country” by terrorism in Southeast Asia, the 2022 GTI noted that “the Philippines recorded its lowest level of terrorism since the inception of the GTI. It had 20 attacks and 18 deaths (that) occur(ed) in 2022, a fall of 68 and 65 percent respectively when compared to the year prior.”
The NSC said that this means that the Philippine government is on the right track.
"And by that we shall continue all counter-insurgency efforts we started years back, focusing mainly on our local peace initiatives and good governance espoused by NTF-ELCAC under the guidance of our chairman, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.," it added.
The NSC also said that it takes note of GTI's classification of the NPA as the most active and deadliest terrorist organization in the Philippines followed by ISIS-inspired local groups and third, the Abu Sayyaf Group.
In the 2020 GTI, it was reported that the NPA was responsible for over 35 percent of deaths and 38 per cent of terror-related incidents in 2019, at 98 and 132, respectively.
However, terrorist activity attributed to the NPA has declined since 2018 with incidents and deaths falling by 26 percent and eight percent, respectively.
"Interestingly, the country’s ranking worsened between the years 2016 and 2017 when the country dropped from 12th place to 10th place. According to the report, this period marked the 'largest increases in deaths from terrorism.' To recall, former President Rodrigo Duterte initiated peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) soon after his assumption to office in 2016 and even appointed leftist leaders to his Cabinet. But before the end of 2017, the former president terminated the talks with the NDF after it was observed that instead of pursuing peace, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the NPA (New People's Army), launched more atrocious attacks and even beefed up their forces in the provinces," the NSC said.
The fact that the CPP-NPA-NDF was insincere in talking peace can be gleaned not only from the GTI but from other sources as well.
The fact that (former president Rodrigo) Duterte declared the termination of talks and the resumption of counterinsurgency measures after NPA bandits attacked a convoy of the Presidential Security Group in the middle part of 2017 and later that year, the killing of an innocent child by the NPA.
"In that same year, we also had the five-month long Marawi Crisis against violent extremists and separatists led by the Maute Group," the NSC pointed out.
These sets of data, which the body noted is culled from an independent and respected third party source such as the GTI, speak volumes of the government’s successes in addressing terrorism on one hand, and the continued threats posed by local communist terrorists on the other.
"But we must not rest on our laurels. For our work is far from over. In fact, these positive developments must inspire and fire up each and every peace and freedom-loving Filipinos to participate in this Whole of Nation approach to end the decades-old communist terrorism by extending the hands of unity and peace to those who were duped into embracing this defunct and senseless cause," the NSC noted.
It also added that under the Marcos administration, the security body assures the Filipino public that the government, with all its units and instrumentalities working together as one, shall continue to endeavor to deliver the promises of genuine peace and equitable development for all, now and for the generations to come. (PNA)
