Threats to security hamper gains—NSA

From The Standard (Nov 15): Threats to security hamper gains—NSA

THE country can’t take off if the government can’t solve internal security threats such as the 48-year-old communist insurgency, the Moro rebellion and the problem of Islamic jihadists in some parts of Mindanao, National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said Monday.

“We have to have internal security before anything else,” Esperon said during the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel forum Monday.

Security talks. National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. Surigao Rep. Prospero Pichay and Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza discuss the country’s security problems at the Samahang Plaridel Kapihan sa Manila Hotel media forum. Lino Santos

Esperon also said the government’s battle against illegal drugs and anti-corruption were cornerstones of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on criminality.

The government has been in the thick of negotiations with the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front. The negotiations have temporarily silenced the guns of the contending parties while working out a more permanent end to the armed conflicts.

These efforts, Esperon said, must show concrete results.

“We’ve to create peace and stability. We’ve got to take out all these internal problems so we can take off for the better,” he said.

“The President believes that if the internal strife is not solved, the country would not be able to achieve progress,” Esperon added.

Esperon said the government had a separate plan to neutralize terrorists such as the Abu Sayyaf group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other jihadist groups in Mindanao.

He denied the presence of more foreign terrorists in Mindanao, however.

“We cannot confirm that yet but we’ve taken preventive steps. All information are being validated but as of now we’ve no confirmation yet of all these reports,” he said.    

At the same forum, Esperon dismissed rumors of a military coup backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency, allegedly in reaction to Duterte’s anti-American policies.

“In the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we’re not trained to become politicians. We’re trained to address armed conflicts, and that’s our job,” Esperon said.

He added that political problems should be solved by political leaders, not by the military.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay, meanwhile, said he expected the relationship between the United States and the Philippines to improve under President Donald Trump.

“Presidents Duterte and [Donald] Trump are very much alike. And so far, Trump has not said anything against Duterte’s campaign versus illegal drugs unlike Trump’s predecessor that pissed Duterte off,” said Pichay, another guest at the forum.

Pichay was referring to US President Barack Obama, who drew Duterte’s ire by raising concerns over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza, meanwhile, said that opposition lawmakers fully support Duterte, but not the “culture of death” that the authorities have embraced.

“There is actually no point in restoring the death penalty because we already have a de facto death penalty with all the senseless killings of criminals happening now,” Atienza said.

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