THE GOVERNMENT WILL have to wrap up its purge against crooks in the soonest possible time if only to prepare for another battle, this time against a group which has been mistakenly taken for “dead.”
According to the Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA), Dawla Islamiya, also known as Isis, has been extensively fortifying its forces in the southern part of the Philippines.
SHUN COMPLACENCY
CCAA also cautioned the government that the extremist group behind terrorist attacks across the archipelago, adding that Dawla has not been eliminated and continues to pose a national security concern.
In a statement issued days after the deadly Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney earlier this month, Dawla Islamiya was “significantly degraded” in view of sustained military operations since the 2017 Marawi siege.
However, the group insisted that recent developments show the threat persists — “Dawla Islamiya is down but not out,” the group said, pointing to the government’s announcement just a month earlier of the neutralization of two ISIS leaders, Abu Jihad and Mohammad Usman Suleiman.
ACTIVELY REGROUPING
While large-scale extremist activity has reportedly declined, CCAA insisted that militant networks and leadership elements have remained active.
The group said the Bondi Beach incident reinforced the need for continued vigilance, especially amid indications of renewed extremist activity in areas previously considered free of violent extremism, including parts of Basilan.
Without naming sources, CCAA made a sweeping claim on what it looks more like signs of increased mobilization and polarization, citing renewed recruitment efforts targeting the youth and cases of young people breaking away from their families and clans.
It also reported a spike in violent encounters between government forces and extremist-linked groups in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
UNSOLICITED ADVICE
The organization likewise called on the Philippine government, as well as peacebuilding and development groups, to strengthen reintegration programs for former violent extremism combatants and their families.
CCAA emphasized that current approaches should move beyond a limited focus on preventing and countering violent extremism, urging more community-based and early-response initiatives anchored on sustainable reintegration and a restorative justice framework.
CCAA said it remained committed to evidence-based analysis in addressing violent extremism and cautioned against speculation while investigations into the Bondi Beach attack are ongoing.
“Premature conclusions that lack evidence risk fueling religious- and identity-based conflict and may obscure the deeper and more complex drivers of violence and radicalization,” the group said.
Scary but our security forces and the people must be vigilant about these mercenaries