The Islamic State of Iraq and the

Levant (ISIS) Threat from a

Philippine Perspective
Guest: H.E. Olivia V. Palala
Published: October 18, 2014

The Pentagon has estimated over 1,000 ISIS
fighters have been recruited from Australia,
India and the Asia Pacific region. What draws
these fighters from this region to ISIS? How
could these governments have borne greater
responsibility in preventing their enlistment?
According to media reports, the
ISIS has access to oil resources
that finance their terrorist
activities. The men who make up
ISIS are also technologically
savvy. It is said that they attract
the youth by using social
networks like Facebook and
Twitter. Because of their access
to huge sums of money, they can
use their resources to lure young
men and women to join their
ranks.
Indeed, the ISIS cutting-edge propaganda
through social media is a crucial element that
must be countered effectively. Combating it
using the same rules of the game may finally
give the coalition success over the ISIS
psychological war. However, we must note that
propaganda is only one face of the security
problem. It is equally important to stomp out the
political and ideological roots of the ISIS
extremisms before any long-term benefit may
be derived.
In the mid-2000s, Al-Qaedas influence grew
beyond Afghanistan into the Philippines
through groups such as Abu Sayaff and
Jemaah Islamiyah. Today, Abu Sayaff is
experiencing resurgence in the Philippines
and pledged allegiance to ISIS. What threat
do returning fighters pose to the Philippines
and ASEAN countries?
Definitely, returning fighters pose a great threat
to the Philippines and the rest of ASEAN
particularly if their needs or aspirations are not
attended to as soon as they arise.
That was how the current ISIS
started. Apparently, they were a
group of returning fighters who
found themselves out of work and
disenfranchised after the previous
administration of Iraq took over
the presidency. Returning fighters
who are jobless and who have
mouths to feed but dont have the
resources to feed those mouths
can always think about
destabilizing the country even if
it is only to call attention to their
situation. The most important thing to do after
fighters return to their own countries is to find an
opportunity to debrief them and attend to their
needs.

Olivia V. Palala is the Philippine Ambassador to
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and State of
Palestine
Interviews

Definitely, returning
fighters pose a great
threat to the Philippines
and the rest of ASEAN
particularly if their
needs or aspirations are
not attended to as soon
as they arise.
Pacific Islands Society | Interviews | October 18, 2014
Given the legacy of military operations since
2002, are the Philippines better equipped to
mitigate the threat posed by these domestic
and international militant groups in the
future?

Yes, I believe so. There definitely is some
improvement in the Philippines capacity to
mitigate threats if not to meet them head-on in
terms of equipment and capacity/know-how.
The Philippines is partnering with several
countries on mutual defense cooperation,
particularly the United States. And, through
frequent joint military exercise, the Philippines
defense forces are becoming better equipped,
particularly in terms of skill and capacity to
mitigate the threat posed by domestic and
militant groups now and in the
future. The Philippines has
also established bilateral and
multilateral agreements with
other countries, particularly
among its neighbors in
Southeast Asia, to share and
exchange information, training
and coordination on counter-
terrorism efforts.

Another way that the
Philippine Government has
mitigated the threat posed by
militant groups is through
coming to terms with the Muslim groups in the
Philippines with the signing of the Bangsamoro
Framework Agreements and its Annexes. These
provide for wealth and power sharing. The final
outcome - a comprehensive agreement is a
major step toward a lasting resolution of the
national divide between the Philippine
Government and the Muslims of the South,
which are collectively known as the Bangsmoro.
Hopefully, because of this agreement, the
Bangsmoro will be able to police themselves
and avoid militancy among the several Muslim
groups in southern Philippines.

How has the long and historic experience of
Islam indigenous to the Philippines affect the
understanding of Islamic movements that
have developed in the Middle East?

First of all, I wish to clarify that the Muslims in
the Philippines do not have a strong or clearly
defined Sunni-Shia divide. Theyre all Muslims.
Though, if you ask the scholars among them,
they would say that the Muslims in the
Philippines are most Sunni just like the
majority of Muslims in Southeast Asia. Few
people realize that many Muslims in the
Philippines are not well ideologically grounded
in the teachings of Islam. They can be very
religious in observing the five pillars of Islam.
They might be reading the Koran, particularly at
prayer times. But, few can explain, for example,
why there is a split among the Shias and the
Sunnis in the Middle East.

Unless they have undertaken
religious studies, the majority of
the Filipino Muslims simply
memorize the verses of the
Koran without a thorough
understanding of the meaning of
those verses because of their
unfamiliarity with the Arabic
language in which the Koran is
written. However, in recent
times, religious organizations
have actively promoted the
teachings of Islam by publishing
Tagalog and English versions of
the Koran and the hadiths, which they give
away for free. They also hold frequent dialogues
on Islam and the Moro situation in Mindinao and
put up Islamic radio programs and even TV
shows. Thus, the sympathies of Muslims in the
Philippines would generally still be with Muslims
in the Middle East regardless of the
ideological backgrounds of those they
sympathize with.

How does the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria
affect local Filipinos?

If you mean the Filipinos residing in the
Philippines, they are affected by the threat of
ISIS in Iraq and Syria because they might have
relatives working in these countries whose lives
Since the majority of the
Filipinos, even while
working in the Middle East,
are Christians, and since
the ISIS is a very violent
group, there is always the
danger of them being
kidnapped, tortured and
killed by members of this
radical group.
Pacific Islands Society | Interviews | October 18, 2014
are put in danger. If, however, you mean the
Filipinos who are now working and residing in
any part of the Middle East region, the threat is
even more real in their minds because they are
so close to the areas in conflict. The instability /
volatility of the entire region cause them much
insecurity and affect their livelihood. Since the
majority of the Filipinos, even while working in
the Middle East, are Christians, and since the
ISIS is a very violent group, there is always the
danger of them being kidnapped, tortured and
killed by members of this radical group.


Interviewer

Keiko Ono is the Director of Development at the
Pacific Islands Society


Disclaimer

The views expressed respectively are those of
the interviewer and interviewee.


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