While the government is mulling over the Mamasapano incident, a bigger storm is brewing in the horizon –ISIS caliphate in the Philippines.
The Aquino administration repeatedly denied ISIS presence in the Philippines but, ‘vowed’ to combat ongoing ISIS recruitment in the country.
How ironic!
How are you going to combat something that you claimed, doesn’t exist?
In a statement resonating the President’s ‘downplaying’ of the growing Muslim extremism problem in Southern Mindanao, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala told the New York Times that “there were ISIS sympathizers in the country but, there is no ISIS operation going on based on their information.”
Again, how is that possible?
Basit Usman (in middle with face visible) with members of the BIFF.
A lot of evidence point out to a growing ISIS activity in Southern Mindanao yet, the Aquino administration is all too willing to risk our national security by turning a blind eye to the crisis in his mad pursuit of his signature policy, the BBL.
In 2013, the Philippines ranked #9 in the Global Terrorism Index. That should be enough to worry a president gifted with common sense but, Aquino was more concerned on the impact of the GTI ranking to the country’s tourism than the safety of the tourists and the Filipino people.
In 2014, the country was visited by prominent ISIS propagandists as part of the group’s efforts to expand ISIS operations in Southeast Asia. The Philippines is the most logical choice for them to set up IS training camps in the Far East because of these reasons:
- Malaysia and Indonesia –the only muslim countries in Southeast Asia– tightened their security and cracked down on radical groups operating in their country. Aquino, on the other hand is doing just the opposite.
- The Philippines has been a historical support node for terror groups throughout Southeast Asia –to include two terrorist group that were included in the US list of most wanted international terrorist organizations; the Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf Group.
- Al-Qaeda –Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s former group– has close ties to Abu Sayyaf Group, with the former providing financial and tactical support for the later as far back as the early 90’s.
The first IS propagandist and proselytizer to visit the country is Robert “Musa” Cerantonio.
Who is Musa Cerantonio?
Musa Cerantonio
He is a known ISIS cheerleader and propagandist and named the second most influential emerging clerical authority in the Syrian War by The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR). Cerantonio has direct ties to ISIS, with the later regularly contacting him to update their controlled areas in the maps. His twitter page displays the Black Flag, a symbol used by ISIS but with words, “Islamic State of Mindanao and Sulu” written in Arabic.
On the pretext of visiting his older brother who is currently living in Manila, Cerantonio visited the country but, went directly to Zamboanga City upon arrival. There, he got himself acquainted with Sheik Abdulwakil Tanjilil, his point of contact in Southern Philippines.
Tanjilil is an influential figure in Southern Mindanao, with ties to local politicians and security force personnel. He travelled to Syria in 1989 for advanced Islamic Studies (Shariah Law) and later returned to the country to establish the Salamat Islamic Institute.
What is the significance of Cerantonio’s contact with Tanjilil in Zamboanga?
Abdukwakil Tanjilil has been teaching Salafist doctrine in the Islamic Centers in Mindanao, including AMEC-affiliated Islamic centers. His lectures are centered around the concept of a “Caliphate” being established in Southeast Asia -–the very same ideology adhered to by IS and the Southern Philippines-based Black Flag movement. Tanjilil has been sponsoring trips to Syria since the 1990’s, on the pretext of taking Islamic Studies in the University of Damascus. One of those Syria-bound trips he sponsored was of Abu Sayyaf Group member Ustadz Jaiton Jala Timuay.
When war broke out between AFP and MNLF in Zamboanga, Cerantonio moved to Cebu. There, he married a Filipino designer named Joan Montayre. In Cebu, he heard of the Philippine Military looking for him so, he posted an online message claiming he was in Syria to join the ranks of the jihadist fighters –to throw them off track. He was finally captured after a few months of hiding and was jailed in Bicutan Prison.
It was in Bicutan Prison that he got himself acquainted with the Raja Suleiman Movement and Abu Sayyaf Group members who were detained in the same cell with him. It was also in Bicutan Prison when the video of an allegiance pledge to ISIS was filmed where Cerantonio played a major role in the filming and advertising of the video. The video filming was significant in that it showed Cerantonio’s ties with al-Hayat Media Center and al-Battar Media Foundations –two major Islamic State propaganda machines.
The next IS propagandist to visit the country is Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips.
Bilal Philips is a Canadian imam who was noted to have extensive ties to known terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda. He was banned from entering the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Kenya, Bangladesh and most recently, in the Philippines after his capture.
Bilal Philips
Philips was listed as the ‘number 132′ co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His known associates are Omar Abdulrahm aka “the Blind Sheik” (also involved in the World Trade Center bombing), Clement Hampton-El aka “Dr. Rashid” (also involved in the World Trade Center bombing and was later convicted for his involvement in the Landmark attacks in the US) and his most notable associate, Osama Bin Laden’s brother-in-law Muhammad Jamal Khalifa.
Khalifa was the one who established the Islamic International Relief Organization (IIRO), an Al Qaeda-linked organization used as a front for recruiting and facilitating terror operations, just like the ISCAG and the AMEC. These non-profit groups were also heavily involved in the purchasing of weapons and facilitating travel to Middle East locations such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen – and remain actively involved in the global jihadist movement to this day. Recently, these support nodes are reportedly involved in facilitating the travel of Filipinos to fight in Syria and Iraq.
This is not Bilal’s first visit in the Philippines. He previously gave a series of guest lectures in Cotabato City. Like Cerantonio, Philips is also married to a Filipina. Their marriage ties in the Philippines is important to note as such, it is highly possible that they were using them to courier money raised abroad to finance terror activities in the country and to pass along important messages to senior terrorist leaders in Southern Mindanao. Another point to consider is that, Bilal and Cerantonio’s Philippine-based associates are the same people.
The timing of Bilal’s second visit in the Philippines is far from a mere coincidence given the delays in the passage of the BBL, the thwarted planned terror attacks in Zamboanga City and parts of Metro Manila, and the terrorist groups pledging allegiances to ISIS. It is highly possible that he was in the Philippines to follow up on Musa Cerantonio’s activities prior to his arrest and deportation.
Then, there’s Dr. Mahmoud bin Ahmed and four other terrorists wanted by the Malaysian police. According to Malaysian Intelligence reports, the fugitives are hiding in Southern Philippines. Three of them, including bin Ahmed were responsible for sending militants to Syria and Iraq to fight side by side with ISIS, and both members of Darul Islam Sabah who have joined the Abu Sayyaf Group. Ahmed is one of the most influential ISIS recruiter in Southeast Asia and was assessed to be hiding in Basilan Island.
Other fugitive terrorists said to be hiding in Southern Philippines are Mohd Najib Hussen, Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, Jeknal Adil and Amin Baco, the notorious recruiter and supporter of ISIS.
Baco has been a part of the JI Training Apparatus (JITA) for several years now, and is a close associate of Zulkifli bin Hir aka “Marwan,” Abdul Basit Usman, Isnilon Hapilon and the notorious Dongon family, among others. Baco is a Malaysian national who is widely considered to be one of the leading JI figures on small-unit tactics. He spends most of his time embedded with ASG’s Hapilon faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao (KIM) – all terror groups who have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State. Baco and the late Marwan belong to Jemaah Islamiya, an international terrorist group providing support to both al-Nusra and IS in Syria be it foreign fighters or conducting facilitation operations through the Hilal Ahmar Society Indonesia (HASI).
Some time in September 2014, around 100 Filipino Muslims in Marawi gathered in public to pledge allegiance to ISIS after friday prayers and urged their community to back up the jihadists. That same month, sightings of the black flag which is a symbol of ISIS ideology were noted in various parts of Mindanao. Prior to that, radical groups in Mindanao such as the Abu Sayyaf Group’s Isnilon Hapilon, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters under Basit Usman, and the Khilafa Islamiya Movement posted videos declaring allegiance and undying support to the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Then, there’s the plot to attack Metro Manila including, the SM Mall of Asia, the Greenbelt Mall and the US Embassy some time in October 2014 — all in the name of ISIS.
Other reported incidents linking to ISIS growing influence in the Philippines were the unconfirmed reports of Filipino IS fighters posing as Malaysians who were killed in Syria on two separate occasions; one in June 2014, and another report in August 2014. This is highly possible since Filipino jihadists were reportedly being smuggled via Sabah route where they were provided fake Malaysian passports by Dr. bin Ahmed. From Sabah, they make their way to Kuala Lumpur to travel by air to Saudi Arabia, en route to Turkey. Upon reaching Turkey, they travel on ground where they were being processed in Tal-Abayd and finally, proceed to Syria.
Suspected Filipino Islamic State fighter allegedly involved in the beheading video of Peter Kassig and the Syrian pilots
In November 2014, a Filipino IS fighter was reported to have participated in the beheadings of Peter Kassig and the eighteen Syrian pilots. The video that was filmed in Dabbiq, Aleppo showed the face of the alleged Filipino IS fighter but, instead of reaching out to the Syrian government for confirmation, the Philippine government denied everything and claimed, the jihadist is actually an ‘Indonesian.’ The Armed Forced of the Philippines even made a preposterous claim that they ran the guy’s face through their database of known ASG members and that they “had his identity” – but weren’t at liberty to divulge it.
Really?
If they indeed have his identity, what’s the big reason for not divulging it? C’mon. Are we playing a cock-and-bull game here? For one thing, the Abu Sayyaf Group is just one of the many terrorist groups operating in Southern Philippines. How many members of ASG were they able to ID –not to mention the other terrorist groups? Then, there’s the problem of the millions of undocumented Filipino workers in the Middle East that the government was not able to track. If they made an attempt to cross-check it with the Indonesian government or the Syrian government, then it would have been possible to believe their bs claims. But, no. The only thing they did is to run the guy’s face through their database then make a grand announcement that he is ‘Indonesian.’
In January, two attempts to assasinate the visiting Pope was thwarted by the military. Marwan, an operative of the ISIS- linked Jemaah Islamiya planned to set up bombs in Kalaw Street where the Papal motorcade was set to pass. Another plot to assasinate the pope which was long planned by ISIS was also thwarted when a Filipino engineer who reportedly trained under ISIS was apprehended in Tacloban City days before the the scheduled Papal visit.
All those incidents mentioned should be more than enought to alert the government to the growing ISIS influence in the country but, Aquino is so invested in seeing the completion of his signature policy that he refuses to address emerging threats in order to avoid appearing “wrong” –he’s known for that. Unfortunately, his failure to acknowledge that he has a huge problem is driving the country towards the dark horizon.
In many ways, Benigno Aquino is Barack Obama’s Southeast Asian ‘clone.’ Both presidents are known to acknowledge any wrongdoing — apart from their own mistakes, both downplaying the threat of ISIS despite mounting evidence of the group’s expanding activity while pursuing both mad policies; Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal and Aquino’s BBL deal.
Their refusal to address the growing problem of ISIS threat that represents a global problem for every civilized nation in the world, is going to cost a lot of innocent lives and is catapulting this world into the most feared apocalypse.
Just last week, four Filipinos were captured by ISIS in Libya. If the group will succeed in establishing a caliphate in Southern Mindanao –efforts are already in progress– what will happen to the Philippines? As much as I don’t want to think about it, with the way President Aquino is handling the situation in the country, the most dreaded ISIS scenario in the Philippines is not far from reality.
I truly hope everyone will wake up to what is happening around us now and demand greater action from our leaders before it’s too late. Now is the time for our President to dismount from his unicorn and face the real world. No more living in fantasy land!
No comments:
Post a Comment