It's true that there is still collusion between some corrupt Philippine military officials and the Abu Sayyaf rebels. The Abu Sayyafs kidnap foreigners and rich Filipino locals, and their military handlers get a cut from the ransom money the Abu Sayyafs receive. In return, the military provides protection to the Abu Sayyafs. A clear example of this is the Lamitan incident, where the Abu Sayyaf terrorists were clearly outnumbered and surrounded inside a hospital compound, but they managed to "escape" the military dragnet with their kidnap victims when the soldiers guarding the area there had all been called in to a "briefing". That left the hospital compound unguarded and allowed the Abu Sayyaf rebels to walk out of the compound with their hostages unhindered.
Not surprisingly, no punishment were meted out to military officers involved in the Lamitan incident because Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the person who succeeded President Joseph Estrada, owed her presidency to the military who installed her as "president" after Edsa Dos and she fears angering the military might lead to another military coup similar to Edsa that could be fatal to her administration.
So she allowed the whitewashing of the Lamitan scandal to avoid any more troubles with her highly-politicized and adventurous military.
You could say that our military-Abu Sayyaf is similar to the Taliban-ISI connection in Pakistan. ISI is Pakistan's Military Intelligence Service.
My hope is for the US troops to stay in the Philippines indefinitely because I don't trust our own military (after their participation in Edsa dos mutiny and installing an unelected person to the presidency) and a pullout of US troops from the Philippines will only revive the Abu Sayyafs, with the help of the corrupt Philippine military, of course.
And like the NYT writer pointed out, it's better for the US to spend it's own money to help rebuild the Philippines instead of throwing money at our own local officials and letting them decide where to spend the money on… because the money will only end up in the pockets and in the Swiss bank accounts of those corrupt officials.
Here BTW, is the NYT article:
A Fair Fight in the Philippines
By BRETT M. DECKER
Published: October 18, 2003
WASHINGTON
President Bush is in Manila today to visit his ally in the war against terror, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines. Mr. Bush has already announced some $340 million in aid to the Philippines this year, and President Arroyo has said she plans to request additional military assistance to fight terrorism. There's only one problem with this alliance: American aid hasn't improved the Philippine military so far, and in many ways it has benefited the Islamic militants it seeks to combat.
In August, Gen. Narciso Abaya, chief of the Philippine armed forces, made an alarming statement about the condition of his military: "I admit there is graft and corruption at all levels." A significant share of the military budget is lost to graft. Selling military hardware on the black market is another common practice. Recent raids of bases of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front have turned up caches of arms with Philippine military markings.
Even American assistance is siphoned away. Testimony before the Philippine Congress in the past several months revealed that American M-16's provided to the Philippine armed forces have been recovered in camps belonging to Abu Sayyaf, a band of guerrillas and kidnappers. Assault rifles, grenade launchers and other American arms have been used by Muslim radicals against Philippine troops — the very troops United States funds are supposed to assist.
American aid to help fight Islamic radicals is often offset by bribes soldiers take from terrorists to let them get away. Operatives affiliated with Al Qaeda have escaped from maximum-security military prisons, once using a helicopter.
If Washington and Manila are serious about eliminating Abu Sayyaf, the United States Special Forces should be given the assignment. The terrorist group consists of about 100 poorly trained amateurs. They would be no match for American soldiers already in the Philippines, but they are still eluding Filipino troops.
The Philippine Constitution does not allow foreign troops to wage combat missions on Filipino soil. It does, however, allow the United States to come to the defense of the Philippines if the islands are attacked. Such an action can be justified in the present case because the terrorist groups get foreign money.
The mission could win support on Capitol Hill because the situation in the Philippines is precisely what the one in Iraq is not: there is a known enemy of limited ability and numbers on a few small, isolated islands with scant local support. There is minimal risk of escalation because the country is only about 5 percent Muslim. Perhaps more important, fellow Filipino Muslims do not support Abu Sayyaf. Separatist Moros view them as a for-profit gang of thugs rather than a religious movement to defend Islam. The provincial governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao ordered his security force to cooperate in the hunt for Abu Sayyaf.
Unless the integrity of arms transfers to the Philippine military can be guaranteed, which is not likely, the United States should consider cutting off military aid to the Philippines and replacing it with economic support to help develop the poor Muslim islands in the south.
There has been some success in winning local "hearts and minds" already. After building a few roads, bridges, sewers and wells last year, American soldiers were cheered by appreciative Muslims as the troops pulled out of Mindanao. More aid for infrastructure could go a long way to soothing centuries of resentment derived from being shut out of the national economy.
A reorientation of American aid would have the added benefit of helping bolster Philippine democracy. The military has instigated coups in every administration except one since 1965. Withholding support from the Philippine brass sends the message that Washington — the nation's most important ally — expects the military to keep its hands off the civilian institutions of government.
The White House should carefully assess what course will best help stabilize one of its most reliable allies in Asia. Despite the inevitable complications, the Philippines is worthy of American assistance.
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