PRESIDENT Duterte acknowledged for the first time Saturday that Abu Sayyaf bandits are seeking to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, linking the notorious kidnap gang to Islamic State terrorists.
At a speech to soldiers at a military camp in Gamu, Isabela, Duterte said several units of the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao have pledged allegiance to the IS.
“They are hungry for a fight to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia. Caliphate is a kingdom for the Muslims,” Duterte said.
“The problem is that they do not talk on the basis of what school you can give them,” he said referring to previous local services the militants have asked for. “It’s either the caliphate or nothing.”
It was the first time Duterte confirmed suspicions that the terrorist Islamic State has established a presence in the country through the Abu Sayyaf bandits who have sworn allegiance to the global jihadist network.
It also seemed to be the next step in the dramatic turnaround in the Duterte administration’s policy toward the Sulu-based kidnap gang, from a willingness to talk in June to an all-out war to crush them by August, punctuated by threats from the President himself that he would eat the bandits alive.
The military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf started in late August after the bandits beheaded an 18-year-old Filipino in Sulu after his family failed to pay the P1-million ransom demand. Earlier this year, the bandits had also beheaded two Canadian hostages for the same reason.
Although the military has reported killing some 32 bandits in ongoing operations in Sulu, it seems apparent that they are nowhere near the President’s order to wipe them out, and could be in for more casualties against an enemy who knows the terrain.
Complicating the government’s task is the threat of terrorist attacks such as the one in a Davao City night market that killed 15 people and wounded 69 others on September 2.
But perhaps the most worrisome aspect is the government’s discordant response to the Abu Sayyaf threat, with the President saying one thing, and his people saying another.
Despite the President’s latest declaration about the IS, the Defense Department continues to deny a formal link between the international terrorist group and the Abu Sayyaf, saying the bandits are “IS-inspired” but not “IS-supported.”
The Palace also insists that no ransom was paid for Norwegian hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad, who was released on Saturday. But as early as Aug. 24, the President had told a Davao City press conference that the Abu Sayyaf was guilty of bad faith, because a P50-million ransom had already been paid.
The lack of a decisive military victory in Sulu thus far, despite the numeric superiority of the Armed Forces, is already a reason for concern. The lack of a cohesive government response in which everyone is on the same page and speaks with one voice can only make matters worse.
