EDITORIAL - The ISIS threat

In the conflict zones of Mindanao, Islamic extremism is just one of the many security threats that residents have faced for a long time. It won’t be a big surprise if the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, whose members have a penchant for decapitating captives and recording the inhumanity on video, manages to recruit supporters in the Philippines.

The original members of the Abu Sayyaf fought against foreign invaders in Afghanistan. Before discussing peace with the government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front also opened its camps to bomb makers and trainers of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror cell loosely linked to al-Qaeda.

The government, with MILF support, is said to be working with the US government to prevent ISIS from gaining a foothold in the Philippines. The success of this effort calls for the same approaches in neutralizing other armed threats in Mindanao: even as extremists are hunted down, they must be deprived of public support by addressing the root causes of discontent.

ISIS militants will find kindred brethren in communities where poverty, social injustice and weak government feed extremism and insurgencies. The ongoing peace process with the MILF holds the promise of improvement in the quality of life in the conflict zones in Mindanao. But the road to the creation  of the Bangsamoro is still long and arduous.

The government need not wait that long to speed up development in the conflict zones. With the support committed by the MILF leadership, the government can improve the security situation sufficiently to enhance the environment for luring investments and creating meaningful jobs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and contiguous areas that may be included in the Bangsamoro.

Alongside development efforts, security forces must step up their operations to consolidate the gains of the peace process and improve public safety. More effort must be made to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf, the MILF breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as well as rogue members of the Moro National Liberation Front.

The Philippines has been included in a list of about 40 countries believed to have ISIS presence. Terrorists operate in many parts of the planet, with several of the richest and most powerful nations among the prime targets. The difference lies in the way countries deal with the threat. The Philippines must show that it can effectively contain Islamist terrorism. This includes depriving extremists of reasons for winning recruits.