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By Johnna Villaviray, Reporter
Conclusion
(The terrorist attacks on America last year
have secured Philippine-US military ties even more firmly. This
concluding installment explains what cemented that bond.)
PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo takes pride in the
fact that she was among the first Asian leaders to support to the
US’ war on terror, but the pivotal role she wanted the Philippines
to play in that war has instead underscored the country’s
intrinsic dependence on its former colonial master.
Nothing illustrates this close relationship as
clearly as the commando rescue last June of the Abu Sayyaf’s three
remaining hostages, two of whom were killed in the operation. Until
the US trained and armed 40 Scout Rangers to take on the bandits, it
appeared that military force had been ineffective in ending the
hostage crisis and the only solution was to pay the ransom demanded.
As before, Washington was instrumental in
defining for the country what its interests are. When the US State
Department listed the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) as a
foreign terrorist organization, Manila could only agree and then
invoke the principle of the non-interference in domestic affairs to
justify continuing peace talks with the dissident group.
The move allowed the administration to retain
the good graces of the US while calming local concerns over what was
perceived as Washington’s meddling.
“There’s really ambivalence over the
issue,” acknowledged UP political science professor Jaime Naval.
Naval said it was good that the CPP has not pulled out of the peace
negotiations even after being tagged as a terrorist organization.
National Security Adviser Roilo Golez earlier
announced plans to freeze the funds of suspected CPP front organizations,
similar to moves by the US and other western countries. He was
initially supported by other government agencies and the military,
which believed cutting off the New People’s Army (NPA) would make
the CPP’s military arm a less formidable force.
The planned crackdown on legitimate
non-governmental organizations revived fears of the abuses of a very
powerful police force that marked the long rule of the strongman
Ferdinand Marcos.
The concerns were quickly overshadowed by the
Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Paranoid over the
devastation brought about by suicide bombings, many civilians were
only too willing to give up some of their personal liberties for an
assurance that they would not be killed or maimed by a terrorist
bomb planted inside a church, a mall or a bus or train.
“There are times when we have to sacrifice the
interests of the minority if it will serve the interests of the
majority. I don’t think people would mind that too much,” said
police intelligence chief Roberto Delfin.
The military initially backed Golez, but after
over a month with no movement, they conceded that the country might
have to wait longer to cut off financial funding to the NPA.
“It’s hard to pick out infiltrated groups
from front organizations,” a senior military official told The
Times.
Golez’s almost knee-jerk replication of the US
move is similar to President Macapagal-Arroyo’s reaction when she
supported the US declaration of war against terrorism. The political
opposition initially sounded alarm bells over the decision, but
quieted down when they realized it enjoyed large public approval.
Naval observed that one clear hurdle to the
government’s campaign to crush terrorism is the tendency of
political leaders to make hasty decisions to please the public.
Except for the President’s “quick but prudent” support to the
US war on terror, Naval said, Malacañang should demonstrate
political will and stop being preoccupied with scoring points with
the public.
“Look at how she offered the Philippines as a
refueling stop for aircraft to be used against Iraq. I think that
should have been considered more seriously before it was
announced,” Naval said.
Weighed down by a weak economy, spoiled and
bickering politicians, political debts, corruption and a civil
society still haunted by the excesses of martial rule, the
administration could not help but to plod on in the war waged
against terrorists here.
Comments on how the country’s policies
evolved after Sept. 11 vary. Critics complain that the
administration jumped on the bandwagon to secure the US’ support
come the 2004 election. They also cautioned that it might make the
country a more attractive target to terrorists, particularly Muslim
radicals.
“But even without the US, we are already a big
target. We are the only Christian country in Asia, and that goes
against their goal of a pan-Islamic regime,” Delfin said.
Naval agreed that US assistance helped the
Philippine military shift focus from insurgents to terrorists, but
maintained the war is being waged against the same enemy. The NPA
and the Muslim guerrillas were only updated to be more relevant to
the post-Sept. 11 development.
Friends of the administration, meanwhile, laud
the swift action the President took to nip the terrorist threat.
Government’s prompt support to the US’
retaliatory attacks on Afghanistan was more acceptable to the
public. Long demonized as crude and tribal, the local Muslim
community had always been regarded with suspicion by the Christian
majority. The Sept. 11 attack on the US that reduced to rubble the
World Trade Center and a portion of the Pentagon enhanced this
perception.
Vice President Teofisto Guingona, until he
resigned as Foreign Affairs secretary in May, had been the Macapagal-Arroyo
administration’s biggest stumbling block to embracing
terrorism-centered RP-US military ties. A known anti-US activist,
Guingona delayed the holding of special joint Philippine-US military
exercises and blocked an agreement allowing the US military to store
equipment and logistics here.
“The intense shifting in partisan politics
impairs the country’s fight against terrorism because it distracts
us. We really couldn’t focus because we have all these other
considerations,” Naval said.
He said this could be corrected if Malacañang
could show political will and stick to its decisions, especially if
these decisions have solid foundations.
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