A ridiculous government policy

EITHER ransom was paid or it wasn’t. There is no gray area. The government can allow the use of euphemisms all they want, but calling any money paid to kidnappers under the guise of “board and lodging” does not change the facts one whit. The Philippine government is, in effect, rejecting the globally accepted policy of never negotiating with terrorists.

Over the weekend, Austrialian Warren Rodwell who had been held by the Abu Sayyaf for 15 months was finally released. Certainly his family, friends and countrymen had reason to be overjoyed. At least Rodwell did not meet with the same fate as other hostages of the terrorist organization. The Abu Sayyaf has been known to execute hostages with no apparent rhyme or reason.

In the case of Rodwell, foreign media has reported that a ransom in the amount of P4 million was paid to the Abu Sayyaf for the former soldier’s release. Rodwell is married to a Filipino woman, and there are indications that the money was coursed through her. The bulk of the funds may have come from Rodwell’s home country.

And because the Philippine government was officially not privy to the exchange of funds, the public is told with a straight face by Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte that the country is maintaining its policy of never negotiating with terrorists. Give us a break. It is precisely because the government has allowed “board and lodging” to be paid for the release of their hostages these past many decades that the Abu Sayyaf remains alive and well. Every so often, they will quietly receive millions of pesos from the families of their victims, and are therefore emboldened to continue with their principal activity.

It is best to call a spade a spade. The Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organization which specializes in kidnap for ransom. Local government officials in areas where the group operates are aware of their activity, and are often brought in during the negotiations stage. Meantime, the police and the military turn a blind eye when the negotiations reach a stage where the exchange of money for the hostage is about to take place.

The strategy has worked well for the Abu Sayyaf. And for this reason, the group can be expected to survive for many more decades. Whatever administration is in power will take the easy way out and agree that paying for the release of the hostages is always the better alternative to having the hostages killed and beheaded.

Unfortunately, it also means that the threat to national security posed by the Abu Sayyaf will not go away anytime soon. Every so often, an administration in power will call for an “all out” campaign to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf and other terrorist organizations. A few members will be caught or even killed in the battlefield. But will the organization be wiped out with finality?

Everyone knows the answer to this rhetorical question. They will survive, not to fight but to kidnap another day. And another. And another.

Unforgettable experience

The foreigners who are kidnapped and subsequently released after their families and friends have raised the board and lodging fee will never forget their experience. And they will make sure that their countrymen will always remember that the Republic of the Philippines may be a great country with some of the nicest people on earth, but every administration tolerates kidnap-for-ransom terrorist gangs because they are unable to eradicate them.

Certainly, the Aquino administration cannot be blamed for continuously tolerating the policy. It has worked for every administration before it. All the mighty talk and bluster about eliminating the Abu Sayyaf “once and for all” will be just that – empty rhetoric. But it should be hoped that the current administration realize that taking the cowardly way out is certain to keep the problem festering.

In truth, there is really only one way to end the scourge that is the Abu Sayyaf and its kidnap-for-ransom activities. This is to tell them to surrender or die. And there should be no open ended deadline for them to surrender. Once that deadline has passed, the entire might of the Armed Forces of the Philippines should be thrown at them.

And incidentally, the government might as well admit that the United States Armed Forces has been taking an active part in battling this terrorist organization. If the country cannot do the job of finishing them off with finality, and needs outside help to make it happen, then why pretend otherwise?

This is another lie that the government should stop foisting on the people. A foreign military is operating inside Philippine territory. This is because they are better equipped to handle the threat because they know what the job is. They do not allow politics to interfere with their work.

Hopefully, one of these years, the people will elect an administration that wholeheartedly agrees that a policy of never negotiating with terrorists is the only one that works. By implementing such a policy, only then can the Abu Sayyaf be eradicated completely, totally and absolutely.