Terror watch: BI tightens screening of foreigners

MANILA, Philippines -  Amid reports that reinforcements for the Maute militants could be arriving in the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has intensified the screening of foreigners coming from countries known to have links to terrorist groups.

Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said immigration officers at the airports and seaports have been alerted to this.

“Those who have questionable documents or doubtful purposes in coming to the country should be excluded and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin,” Morente said without mentioning any country.

The BI’s port operations division chief Marc Red Mariñas was set to deploy intelligence personnel at the airports to look out for suspected foreign terrorists who might attempt to enter the country.

Morente admitted it is not easy to distinguish a legitimate foreign visitor from a suspected terrorist, particularly if their travel documents are in order.

“That is why we have in our database the names of thousands of suspected international
 terrorists that were given to us by the different law enforcement and intelligence agencies here and abroad,” he said. 

There were reports that foreign jihadists will join the Maute group in fighting government troops for control of Marawi City.

The military sustained its offensive against the pockets of resistance put up by the Maute extremists trying to gain a stronghold in Marawi.

The fighting in Marawi entered its fifth week, leaving a total of 268 terrorists, 66 government troopers and 26 civilians killed in the clashes since it broke out on May 23. About 500 individuals are still trapped in the battle zone while more than 320,000 others have been displaced. 

Authorities said some of the terrorists killed in the clashes with government troops were foreigners, among them Malaysians, Indonesians and others from unnamed Arab countries.

There were reports that jihadists coming from

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya and Morocco have joined the Maute group in the effort to carve out a caliphate in Mindanao.

The military called recently for stricter immigration procedures after it received reports that some terrorists entered the country through the airports.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla stressed on Monday the need to strengthen immigration procedures, saying some terrorists who were able to enter the country had stamped passports.

Last May, immigration counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals faced problems when only a few immigration officers were available to process passenger documents.

Immigration supervisors and agents from other airport units such as travel control and enforcement had to man the vacant counters and function as immigration officers.

The crisis had been brewing since April over the unpaid overtime salaries of immigration officers.

Spillover

President Duterte warned of retaliatory attacks after the fighting in strife-torn Marawi City is over. 

“You have to keep watch and control the movements as yet. Just because the fighting has stopped in Marawi, it does not mean that we are already safe. One of these days, they will go into bombings,” the President told reporters in Cagayan de Oro Tuesday night. 

“It could start in Mindanao. They are there. There are a lot of motions there. And I just hope that the Moro people would not, you know, do not take it hook, line and sinker,” he added. 

Duterte said a spillover of the Marawi conflict is possible as terrorists may slip to other parts of Mindanao to evade pursuing government forces. 

“You know there are places, you have Cotabato, you have Basilan, you have Jolo. Whether you like it or not, the sentiments of a spillover there… Besides, they are escaping in all directions,” he said. 

Duterte warned of retaliatory moves from the Islamic State (IS or ISIS). “Better keep watch. I’m not saying that it’s happening, but it will happen in the near future because of the inroads of ISIS into Mindanao,” he added. 

Asked what he plans to do with the threat posed by the terrorists, Duterte said: “I will deal with them harshly.”

Security officials are no longer setting a timeline for the retaking of Marawi City after repeatedly missing their self-imposed deadlines. 

Duterte claimed the fighting in Marawi is winding up “except for a few snipers left behind.” 

“I do not think that it would last a little longer than expected,” the President said. 

Padilla, for his part, said the situation in Marawi “continues to improve.” 

“There are areas that we have not covered before that we have already overcome at this moment and the process of clearing is what we are concentrating on in the succeeding days,” Padilla said in a press briefing in Malacañang yesterday.

While the government wants to put an end to the Marawi siege as soon as possible, Padilla said they would not sacrifice the lives of soldiers just to fast-track clearing operations. 

Padilla said they are prioritizing the buildings that are heavily built or are capable of withstanding bombardment. 

“The Armed Forces is also carefully assessing the situation in the outlying areas in preparation for the rehabilitation,” he added. 

Convoluted

Despite the threats posed by Islamist extremists, Duterte is cool to the offer of armed Christian group Ilaga to help government forces flush out the terrorists in Marawi.

“I do not think at this time that we have to include the civilian sector. The last thing that I would want to happen is a communal war,” Duterte said. 

“I know that some of the Christians are getting insecure and that is why a lot of them have been looking for heavy firearms… but the offer would only add to the convoluted thing that’s happening now. Let the Armed Forces and the police deal with the problem. I know that they’re capable of doing it,” he added. 

Duterte previously warned that a civil war may ensue if the security problems caused by the Maute group are not addressed. 

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, for his part, urged the public to denounce false or distorted teachings of Islam being used to fuel terrorism.

Lorenzana said everybody has a “patriotic duty to resist and stop evil from taking root.” 

“Religion should never be used as a justification to murder and destroy the lives of innocent civilians,” he said.

Lorenzana called on the public to show strong rejection of the terrorists and their sympathizers’ futile attempts to sway the hearts and minds of the people by ignoring and reporting terrorist-linked and suspicious social media accounts to the proper authorities. 

“We must also be very discerning in sharing any information that may cause undue panic that would further the enemy’s agenda,” he said.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the public should be vigilant in the fight against terrorism.

“Let us learn from the experience of other countries. Their slogan is: if you see something, report it. That’s how we should be too,” Pimentel said.

He said the public merely has to call the attention of the authorities.

“Let us not believe that we are exempt from all these violence happening all over the world. So let us be vigilant,” Pimentel said. – Alexis Romero, Edith Regalado, Michael Punongbayan, Marvin Sy