FRANCISCO S. TATAD
THAT the dead assailant at the Resorts World Manila attack, which killed 38 and injured 54 others on June 2, turned out to be a crazed gambling addict with no known links to the Islamic State (IS), which had claimed responsibility for it, has done little to clear the Philippines of the IS threat. Aside from the ongoing fighting against government forces by the supposedly IS-influenced Maute terrorist group in Marawi City, 1,200 IS operatives are said to be in the Philippines, according to the Indonesian defense minister at the Singapore Dialogue of Southeast Asian defense chiefs. And the Australian defense minister has warned from Sydney that hardened IS fighters could create havoc in Southeast Asia after training in the Middle East.