Has the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) reached the Philippines or are local armed groups just using their name to sow fear among the populace?
President Benigno Aquino III believes it is the latter.
鈥淭here are members of the Abu Sayyaf Group who have pledged, all sorts of groups waving the ISIS flag and claiming that (they) are ISIS.聽There are reports that one particular group is about to be聽recognized. But these groups are known enemies of the state, like the ASG, which used to claim it is part of al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah,鈥� Aquino said during an ambush interview in Bulacan.
鈥淣ow that ISIS is popular, they are claiming to be ISIS. Tomorrow it might be another group, another name,鈥� he added.
Recent reports cite videos shot in Mindanao by armed groups claiming linkages to the infamous terrorist group.
With the series of attacks in Jakarta linked to the ISIS, Aquino said the Philippine government had directed a聽鈥渉ardening of sites鈥� or having stricter security measures.
He said such sites could still be vulnerable and it was important to gain the cooperation of the public.
鈥淭he cooperation of the government and the people would ensure our safety. Are there suspicious people in the area? Are there unattended packages?鈥� he said.
Aquino said he met with security officials on Thursday and they did not report any imminent threat.
However, he said it was still better to be cautious and vigilant.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen the attacks in Paris, in America, in Indonesia; we also receive threats here. But is there a credible threat? None. Is there a general threat? Yes. We are not immune to the problem of extremism,鈥� Aquino said.
Nevertheless, he said law enforcement agencies and intelligence groups were focused on the issue and working to thwart such threats. He said one way to prevent 鈥渞adicalization鈥� of people was to give them livelihood.
He said there were two half-Filipinos supposedly being linked to ISIS but both were born and grew up outside the Philippines.
鈥淗aving said that, we have a large population in the Middle East鈥攐ne to two million. It is said that many have been聽radicalized聽through the Internet. Of course we will be prudent and try our best to work with their intelligence agencies and our intelligence agents themselves have been monitoring (Filipino) communities to verify if these are being influenced by ISIS,鈥澛爃e said.