First counterterrorism center in Southeast Asia to rise in Silang, Cavite
THE Philippines and the United States are ramping up their cooperation and joint effort in fighting terrorism as the country struggles to deal with the effects of violent extremism and radicalism in Mindanao.
More than a week ago, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the US Embassy in Manila broke ground for a regional counterterrorism center at the compound of the PNP Academy in Silang, Cavite, with the center expected to rise before the end of this year.
THE Philippines and the United States are ramping up their cooperation and joint effort in fighting terrorism as the country struggles to deal with the effects of violent extremism and radicalism in Mindanao.
More than a week ago, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the US Embassy in Manila broke ground for a regional counterterrorism center at the compound of the PNP Academy in Silang, Cavite, with the center expected to rise before the end of this year.
The training facility, the first of its kind in the region, will not only benefit the country, but even other states in Southeast Asia which, like the Philippines, are also coping with problems posed by Islamic militancy.
The center, which will train and capacitate members of law-enforcement agencies in the Philippines and even from its neighbors, is a much-needed boost for the government, which is dealing with the Islamic State (IS) and its continuing recruitment in the country.
The Philippine government and the people of Marawi still have to rebuild from the damage wrought by homegrown but IS-inspired terrorists who wreaked havoc on the once-progressive Islamic City in 2017, putting it under siege for months.
On the ground, the IS operates through the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) under Hadjan Sawadjaan in Sulu, the Maute Group in Lanao del Sur and the three factions of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Central Mindanao, particularly in the province of Sulu.
Multimillion-dollar facility
The center would be built and equipped from a P350-million ($6.7 million) funding, which is part of the P520-million ($10 million) US counterterrorism money obtained to establish and jointly operate the facility with the US.
The US Embassy said the US Department of State secured the $10 million in the form of counterterrorism partnership funds to construct and jointly operate and maintain the facility.
The initialization of the project was made before former PNP chief General Oscar Albayalde gave up his post as top policeman of the country. He considered putting up the regional training center as another expression of support by the US in its counterterrorism commitment to the country.
“For years, the US government [has] always [been] ready to help the PNP’s campaign to strengthen our mechanism for our counterterrorism efforts,” he said.
The US Embassy said that once the facility is constructed, it will provide counterterrorism training for law-enforcement units and other personnel from the country and from regional partner nations.
Complementing effort
The operation of the center is seen to back up the current initiatives of the government in dealing with the problems of terrorism, violent extremism and even radicalism in Mindanao, which, since last year, has recorded at least four cases of suicide bombings, one of which was perpetrated by a local Moro.
Other than conducting military operations in Western and Central Mindanao against IS-allied local groups and allowing the Moros to exercise a semi-independent government through the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the government has put forward the National Action Plan on Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism.
Government officials hope that the action plan would stop radicalism in southern Philippines.
The establishment of the modern regional counterterrorism center in the country came following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the PNP and the US Embassy in August this year.
“We believe this program will enhance and boost our capabilities to address threats posed by domestic and transnational terrorism,” Albayalde said.
“The establishment of this center reflects the US’s enduring commitment to support Philippine counterterrorism efforts and work together to address threats to peace and security in the region,” the US Embassy, on the other hand, said.
Other counterterrorism support
The creation of the state-of-the-art facility was but part of the assistance that the US had been providing the country in an effort to boost its counterterrorism capability.
In September last year, the US provided more than five million rounds of ammunition worth P117.4 million to the military for its specialized units’ counterterrorism training.
The ammunition, funded as a grant through the US Counterterrorism Train and Equip Program, was provided primarily for the use of the Army’s Light Reaction Regiment and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Joint Special Operations Group.
In July this year, the US also announced that it will provide $26.5 million for the next two years to boost the counterterrorism effort of the Philippine government.
The money will fund assistance to a wide array of projects that include training, equipment and other support to build “comprehensive law-enforcement capacity within a rule of law framework to deny terrorist operations, funding and movement.”
It will also support programs, including boosting the capability of Filipinos to investigate and prosecute terrorism cases and counter violent extremism and radicalization.
“This support for non-military rule-of-law approaches to addressing terrorist threats will complement our sustained commitment to building the counterterrorism capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” it said.
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