U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2004 - Philippines

The Philippines continues to cooperate on a range of bilateral and multilateral counterterrorism efforts. Indigenous terrorist groups, as well as operatives of Jemaah Islamiya, continue to threaten the security of the country. The Philippines suffered the worst terrorist attack in its history when a bomb planted by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists sunk SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay, killing approximately 130 passengers. In December, a bomb exploded in a crowded market in General Santos City, Mindanao, killing a reported 17 people. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Philippine authorities had a number of successes against terrorists in 2004. In March, they arrested seven ASG members responsible for the SuperFerry bombing and uncovered their plans to bomb the US Embassy, shopping malls, and other targets in Metro Manila. In April, a Philippine military unit killed six ASG members on Basilan Island, including Hamsiraji Sali, a senior ASG leader wanted by the United States for his role in the kidnappings of Americans Guillermo Sobero and Gracia and Martin Burnham and Sobero's and Martin Burnham's subsequent deaths. One of the three US-trained Light Reaction Companies bloodlessly apprehended two New People's Army (NPA) commanders in June, and an August air strike against the Pentagon Gang destroyed its leadership and virtually eliminated it as an organization. A court in August sentenced 17 ASG members to death, although four were convicted in absentia after having escaped from jail. In October, authorities arrested two men and one woman for their roles in bomb attacks at the Davao airport and ferry port.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced the creation of a multi-agency Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF) in March. During the first five months of its existence, ATTF operatives, backed up by law enforcement, captured over 60 suspected terrorists, seven of them foreigners believed to be elements of al-Qa'ida and JI.

The Philippines has made progress in tracking, blocking, and seizing terrorist assets. The main body tasked with investigating terrorist finance cases – the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) – completed the first phase of its information technology upgrades in 2004. The arrests in May and September, respectively, of ASG suspects Khair Mundus and Satrap Tilao on the first-ever money laundering charges against terrorists grew out of an investigation initiated by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in coordination with Philippine officials. On December 17, the Philippines agreed to co-sponsor, with the United States, the submission of ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani for inclusion on the United Nations 1267 Sanctions Committee list.

Major evidentiary and procedural obstacles in the Philippines, such as the absence of a law defining and codifying terrorist acts and restrictions on gathering of evidence, hinder the building of effective terrorism cases. Although several new counterterrorism bills were introduced in the new session of Congress in July, the Philippines failed to enact new antiterrorism legislation in 2004. Generic problems in the law enforcement and criminal justice systems also hamper bringing terrorists to justice. Among them are corruption, low morale, inadequate salaries, recruitment and retention difficulties, and lack of effective cooperation between police and prosecutors.

US and Philippine authorities worked closely during 2004 to energize rewards programs targeting terrorist groups. Using its Rewards Program, the US Department of Defense made two payments of $15,000 and $9,800 to Filipino informants for their roles in the capture of ASG cell leaders Galib Andang (aka "Commander Robot") and Alhamzer Limbong (aka "Kumander Kosovo"). The US Department of State, through its Rewards for Justice program, made a payment of $1 million to the three Philippine informants who played a crucial role in the attempted capture of Hamsiraji Sali, during which Sali was killed.

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