EDITORIAL - Lucrative industry

A man wanted for several kidnapping cases in Mindanao was shot dead yesterday by combined military and police teams in Zamboanga Sibugay, the Armed Forces of the Philippines reported. Waning Abdusalam was tagged as the leader of a gang behind the kidnapping of an Irish priest and an Australian ex-soldier.

That’s one down, scores more to go. Abdusalam is said to be a rogue member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Members of the MILF’s supposedly breakaway faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, are also using kidnapping to raise funds. In Sulu and Basilan, residents continue to be terrorized by the Abu Sayyaf and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Last week the Abu Sayyaf again threatened to kill two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina seized last year from a resort on Samal Island in Davao del Norte unless ransom was paid. The bandits, whose previous commanders were widely believed to have collected over $20 million in ransom a decade ago in exchange for foreign hostages, are again demanding millions of dollars for their latest captives.

Will the government ever be able to end this scourge? The Abu Sayyaf has been repeatedly decapitated, but new commanders keep popping up, continuing its bloody tradition. Its areas of operation have been cleared several times, in 2002 with the help of US forces, but security gains are not consolidated and the government can’t seem to get the upper hand in the fight.

Local governments play a crucial role in the success of any campaign against extremists and criminal gangs. But there is persistent suspicion that local officials themselves are in cahoots with the bandits,  using kidnapping to raise funds. With the government’s no-ransom policy just meaningless rhetoric, kidnapping has become one of the most lucrative industries in Mindanao.

The Abu Sayyaf and other bandit groups in Mindanao have successfully prevented the development of some of the poorest areas in the Philippines. They continue to give the country a negative image overseas, dampening tourism even outside their areas of operation. The Abu Sayyaf should have been neutralized a long time ago, with a combination of security and development approaches. The government cannot allow this blight to thrive.