The past two weeks have been fast and furious for President Duterte. When government forces suffered 15 soldiers killed in the fight against the Abu Sayyaf, the government responded by pouring more troops to Sulu for a fight to the finish. Then, on the night of September 2, an improvised explosive device was detonated at the night market in Davao City, killing 14 people and injuring about 67. The Abu Sayyaf has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Two days after the blast, the government declared a state of lawless violence throughout the country with Proclamation 55 dated Sept. 4, 2016. If those events were not enough, the President created a diplomatic tempest during an interview with the media just before departing for his first foreign trip to Laos which he immediately regretted the following day.
In the case of the Abu Sayyaf, there is no question that the whole nation is squarely behind the President in his desire to completely destroy the one single terrorist group that has caused the country so much international embarrassment. There are some questions whether the proclamation was necessary at all but support has come from some in the business community and the political allies of the President.
The usual critics of the President are not impressed. But what really is the actual peace and order situation? In the recent Senate committee hearings, no less than the Chief of the Philippine National Police in his briefing said that crime volume for the year has gone done by about 30 percent which is very significant. Now, we are in the state of some kind of emergency which could last indefinitely. There seems to be a disconnect.
According to the PNP, there is also a chance that drug syndicates may have paid the Abu Sayyaf to do the bombing in Davao. We do not know whether this information is at all credible. What this means is that the police is trying to connect the drug war to the terrorist activities of the Abu Sayyaf. As far as it is known, there has been no record in the past that would show some kind of alliance between the Abu Sayyaf and the drug cartels. So this information is something new and need to be validated because of its impact and consequences in the law enforcement community if found to be true.
In the past, it has been a practice of our security services to distinguish acts of terrorism connected to the ongoing conflict in Mindanao and traditional criminal activities. This is the reason why in Mindanao, it is the Armed Forces that plays the major role with the PNP supporting the effort in the fight against all militant groups. It has been a good arrangement that ought to be maintained. Over the years, the country has learned to adjust to this kind of situation. It might not be a good idea if there is an attempt to change this and lump all lawless activities into one category. If this is the case, then there is a case for declaring a state of lawlessness and violence throughout the country. There must, however, be a time line and should not be indefinite. In a prolonged emergency situation, it cannot be helped that eventually, the situation will take its toll on the economy. The financial market could also be adversely affected together with foreign investments. This is something the country cannot afford at this time.
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We all know that President Duterte is not into diplomatic niceties. He does not pull his punches. He says what is in his mind. This was demonstrated in his interview before he left for Laos. His tirade appears to have been provoked by a question from a reporter. What followed was the first of its kind that I have ever seen on live TV.
Predictably, US President Barack Obama cancelled their scheduled meeting. President Duterte, for his part, also expressed regret for what happened. It is hard to say whether what he said was a spontaneous reaction to the question or a long-simmering belief bottled up inside him that exploded when the question was asked.
Clearly, there will be some post-mortem analysis on both sides on how to repair the situation. We are not only an important treaty ally of the United States but also its oldest ally in Asia.
One thing about being a member of the community of nations, is that there are just certain things that leaders do not say in public. In the world of diplomacy, no man is an island. A country cannot do things without the international community raising a lot of questions. We see this happening all the time. We just have to learn to explain the issues to the best way we can. As the President said, there was no intention to insult President Obama but as they say, what one says could be a lot more painful than what one does. Hopefully, there will be no long-term damage to our relationship. Let us not lose track on the issue of the Scarborough shoal which the Chinese have occupied and in the words of President Duterte himself, are apparently preparing for more construction while at the same time promising the Philippines significant infrastructure investments. In the end, what do we really want? Maintaining the integrity of our sovereign rights as a nation, or would we be willing to look the other way in exchange for investments which seems to be what the Chinese are betting on. Hopefully, our leaders have the wisdom to do what is in the best interest of our country.