BANTAY
GOBYERNO
Ike
Señeres
From all indications, it
appears that the members of the Maute Group are actually terrorists, and are
neither rebels nor bandits. To say that they are rebels would in fact dignify
them, because that would mean that they have a cause that they are fighting for,
and that they are directly aiming to bring down the government of the
Philippines.
To say that
they are bandits would in fact marginalize them, making them appear that they
have no other goal but to plunder and steal. As we now see it however, they do
not seem to be wanting in money and resources at all.
If in fact
they are actually bandits that would mean that they are merely and simply
criminals, and nothing more. That would also mean that the problems they are
causing are merely and simply civilian matters, and would only require police
actions, and not military interventions.
It seems that
early on, the government has already determined that these people are not
merely and simply criminals, and thus it was deemed necessary to call for
military interventions. As of now however, the government has been saying that
these people are terrorists, but no formal declaration to that effect has been
made so far.
An insurgency
is a rebellion against an authority, such as the authority of the Philippine
Government. There is a condition however that those taking part in the
rebellion are not recognized as belligerents. According to Wikipedia, “A state
of belligerency may also exist between one or more sovereign states on one side
and rebel forces, if such rebel forces are recognized as belligerents. If there
is a rebellion against a constituted authority and those taking part in the
rebellion are not recognized as belligerents, the rebellion is an insurgency”.
It is
interesting to note that during the American Civil War, the Confederate States
of America was recognized as a belligerent power by some countries, even if it
has not yet gained sovereign status. According to international law, once the
status of belligerency is established between two or more states, their
relations are governed by the rules of war, and that includes protection of the
rights of combatants on both sides of the conflict. At this juncture, we should
point that up to now, the long running communist rebellion is considered as an
insurgency up to now, and a state of belligerency is not even hinted.
Up to now, it
is not really clear whether the members of the Maute Group are simply just
sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), meaning that they
are simply trying to get the attention so that they could be recognized by ISIS
as a branch, a cell or anything to that effect. Based on the fact that the
group seems to have access to large amounts of money, it would not be
farfetched to theorize that actual contact has already been made between the
two groups, and that money has already flowed between their two sides. Tacit or
not, there is reason to believe that one way or the other, ISIS has already
recognized the local group.
Practically
all over the world, authorities have already declared and categorized ISIS as a
terrorist group, thus leaving out the possibility of classifying them as either
bandits or rebels. Not being classified as rebels, they also have no chance of
achieving a belligerent status between them and their state enemies.
At this
point, it is important to note that from the outset, ISIS has introduced itself
not as a mere organization, but as a Caliphate, in other words a sovereign
state, supposedly that is. According to some reports, the leader of the local
group has already introduced himself as an Emir of that supposed Caliphate,
probably suggesting that on their part, they would want to establish some kind
of a vassal state or a tributary state.
Very clearly,
the local communist rebels have not been categorized as a terrorist group, and
it is for that reason that the government could still negotiate with them,
because the government is not supposed to negotiate with terrorists. On the
other hand, the Abu Sayaf Group (ASG) appears to be classified up to now as a bandit
group, and therefore they are neither rebels nor terrorists, at least in
theory. Because of recent reports that the ASG has come to the aid of the Maute
Group, it may now be necessary to declare the ASG as a terrorist group as well.
Based on the
behavior of many other countries, any action against terrorists is already as a
military matter, and no longer a police matter per se. At this point, declaring
the local communist rebels as a terrorist group is out of the question, because
the government is already negotiating with them.
Based on the
will power demonstrated by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, it is clear that
negotiating with the Maute Group is also out of the question. It is also clear
that they are not simply bandits, but they could still claim to be insurgents,
hoping perhaps to get some favorable treatment if caught. Before any form of
belligerent status is hinted, it appears necessary to already declare them
officially as terrorists.
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