Former Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael Alunan sees the Marcos administration on the right track when it comes to its anti-terrorism efforts, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been firm in saying that he will "unlikely" renew the peace talks with the communist rebels and the New People's Army.
"I think they're quite vigilant. The thing is this: it's very difficult to cover all the bases. During my time, the NPA, for example, and the MILF had a tactical alliance, and they had one common purpose — to topple the government. So, your enemy is my enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend," he said in an interview over DAILY TRIBUNE's digital show, Straight Talk, on Wednesday.
Alunan, now president of the Rotary Club of Manila, said the Marcos administration should be cautious with the NPA and other terror groups, as he sees that they will regain strength to redo their wicked ways of years back.
World in turmoil
"I think they are slowly beginning to come back. The NPA wants to bounce back. And then, of course, the Islamists, the Jihadists here, want to bounce back after Marawi. And the world is in turmoil," he said.
Last July 2023, the US-based conflict research and analysis group Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project said that formal peace talks between the government and the communist leadership, which had taken place in over 40 rounds since 1986, looked unlikely to be revived under Marcos, making him the first Philippine president not to seek peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF.
In 2017, former President Rodrigo Duterte declared the NPA a terrorist group.
Be watchful about Israel-Hamas conflict
Alunan, DILG chief during the term of President Fidel Ramos, said the country should be observant as the war in the Middle East is the work of a terror group.
"But we must be watchful about what's going on in the Middle East because terror groups are the ones that are attacking Israel. And these guys are of like mind, and they're no different. The guys here in Southeast Asia, like Islamiyah and the remnants of al-Qaeda, are no different in terms of approach and thinking. Because they want to get the old Muslim kingdom back on top," he said.
On Monday, no less than National Security Council Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya revealed that members of the extremist group Hamas, who have been terrorizing and killing civilians, including children in Gaza, tried to infiltrate the Philippines in 2018 to spread their brand of terrorism in the country.
Malaya said the police arrested a Hamas explosives expert and immediately deported to Turkey five years ago. At the same time, another Hamas operative after that met with local terrorist groups to make the country a base of operation for extremists.
WPS conflict with China
Alunan said the Philippines would be collateral damage in a conflict between the US and China.
"What bothers me is that I think China is trying to deplete or degrade the elements of America's national power. We're in the danger zone, and if the government reads the signs, the writing on the wall, and comprehends it, then let's get the civil defense going. Because, first of all, we are disadvantaged in terms of military preparedness. With zero in civil defense, zero. How do we get our communities to prepare for their safety, security and survival?" he said.