An international security expert revealed that several former armed groups in Mindanao turned from acts of terrorism to cigarette and rice smuggling.
Professor Rohan Gunaratna of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore disclosed this during the recent two-day “PROTECT 2023: Doing Business Amidst New Threats” conference at the New World Hotel in Makati City.
Gunaratna noted that cigarette smuggling has become an immensely lucrative source of income for various armed groups in Mindanao.
He said that after the extensive efforts by the military, law enforcement agencies and intelligence communities disrupted these groups, their members turned to criminal activities.
“The structure of the Abu Sayyaf, the structure of the BIFF [Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters] and that of the ISIS had already been dismantled. Their leaders had been neutralized, including the last foreign terrorist fighter in the South,” Gunaratna said.
He said, however, the armed groups were transitioning from terrorism to crime. “Terrorism is no longer the real monster in the Philippines; crime is,” he said.
He made this point during a thought leaders round table discussion on national security issues during the second day of the forum. The topics discussed were smuggling, counterfeiting, human trafficking, infiltration of business and government (fraud) and money laundering, with a focus on cross-border crimes and the use of technology by criminals and terrorists.
The PROTECT conference series, focused on “Navigating Business Amidst New Threats,” was initiated in 2005 by Leverage International (Consultants) Inc., in collaboration with the Anti-Terrorism Task Force Security and Safety, later known as the Anti-Terrorism Council. This response was prompted by the escalating threat of terrorism in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
The conference, held on Sept. 28 and 29, saw the participation of high-ranking government officials, including National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Ano, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, and former AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Defensor. Leaders from the private sector also attended.
Gunaratna said former armed groups were using funds acquired from activities like kidnap-for-ransom and financial support from backers to invest in activities such as cigarette and rice smuggling. They had also procured multiple speedboats for the illegal transportation of goods from neighboring countries, primarily Indonesia, he said.
“The ASG [Abu Sayyaf] was initially founded in Basilan by Abdurajak Janjalani. During the leadership of Kumander Robot and Mujiv Susukan, the ASG used ransom money from the infamous Sipadan Kidnapping in 2001 to engage in rice smuggling,” he said.
Gunaratna said a team within the ASG, led by Bensali Andan, also known as Binang Andan, started smuggling cigarettes in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Their operations had grown significantly, generating millions of pesos in revenue, ensuring a steady source of funds even when their kidnapping activities were unsuccessful.
He noted that in July 2021, police in Zamboanga City also arrested two ASG officials and seized numerous boxes of assorted smuggled cigarettes worth millions of pesos, along with five high-powered firearms, from their rented house in Barangay Sta. Barbara.
Another anti-terrorism expert, Professor Mohd Mizan Mohd Aslam from the University of Malaysia Perlis, noted the ASG’s involvement in cross-border crimes, specifically cigarette smuggling, in an article published in the New Straits Times on Sept. 21, 2021. Aslam noted that the ASG chose to smuggle cigarettes due to its “lowest risk” compared to other illicit goods.
Gunaratna also revealed another armed group utilized its personnel and war equipment to smuggle cigarettes from Malaysia through Sabah into various southern parts of Mindanao, including Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Sulu, and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Gunaratna said the Philippine government was losing billions of pesos in unpaid excise tax each year, funds that could have been allocated to support various pro-poor projects such as universal healthcare.
He said to address the rampant illicit cigarette trade, smuggling and the sale of smuggled cigarettes, the government should tackle corruption, strengthen border control monitoring, share intelligence information regionally, harmonize preventative regulations among source, transit and destination countries, enhance law enforcement efforts against transnational crimes and effectively implement the Anti-Terrorism law.
He also highlighted the emergence of numerous private ports, particularly in Mindanao, as a key factor facilitating the successful transportation of smuggled goods from neighboring nations. Gunaratna said that without effective government oversight, these private ports would continue to be exploited by smugglers for illegal activities.
”Unless these private ports are monitored and put under the control of the government, smugglers will continue to engage in this illegal activity,” Gunaratna said.