Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. on Monday maintained that no Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants operate from the Philippines.
“On the part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we don’t have any intelligence data about that. We maintain that there are no ISIS in this country. There are Abu Sayyaf, the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), there are private armed groups, and that, to our knowledge, are the people who are making problems down south,” Catapang said.
However, Catapang was quick to say that even if there were ISIS operatives in the country, they will not succeed because the AFP is ready to stop any force that will block the way to peace in the south and in the rest of the Philippines.
“We don’t need to worry even if there are a few of them who wants to be radical, extremist, and terrorist. We will hunt them down, so with a united front, all Filipinos, whether Christian or Muslim or lumad is claiming peace,” Catapang said.
“[Those who fight against peace] will be isolated, they will become useless, irrelevant and they will lose in this fight,” he added.
In October 2014, a student in Zamboanga City said members of jihadist group ISIS was recruiting students from a university there.
The student from Western Mindanao State University said ISIS has been recruiting students for two months, adding that each recruit would be given P70,000.
Recruiters also promised more benefits for students who finish their training as ISIS members, the report added.
In August of the same year, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Abu Sayyaf Group claimed to have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
A spokesman for the BIFF said, however, that is is not sending fighters to Syria nor is it recruiting members for the ISIS, which is also called the Islamic State.
The military dismissed the supposed alliances as propaganda.
A spokesman for the BIFF said, however, that is is not sending fighters to Syria nor is it recruiting members for the ISIS, which is also called the Islamic State.
The military dismissed the supposed alliances as propaganda.
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