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PERCEPTION IS REALITY IN THE PHILIPPINES
During the final few months of 2009, Mindanao experienced several major security incidents that garnered both domestic headlines and international media attention:
A series of kidnappings and beheading of a captive in Basilan Province that served as a reminder of the Abu Sayyaf Group’s presence and brutality
A jailbreak in Basilan Province that released a dozen criminals and terrorists back into an already volatile community
A well-coordinated NPA attack against a logging firm in Surigao del Sur Province in retaliation for the firm’s rejection of revolutionary tax demands and then an ambush of responding Philippines Government security forces
A gruesome mass political execution in Maguindanao Province carried out by a prominent political warlord family and the subsequent declaration of martial law to restore order
A mass abduction of 75 civilians, most of whom were children, orchestrated by rogue tribal gunmen in Agusan del Sur Province
From an outsider’s perspective; these events occurred not in the far flung and lawless areas of Mindanao, but in the Republic of the Philippines and reflect poorly on the country as a whole. This has led to a belief that the security situation in the Philippines is deteriorating and the risk climate across the country becoming more critical. Driven by an international media establishment that, to no fault of its own, covers the Philippines only in times of perceived chaos and crisis, the security breakdowns suggest a level of nationwide volatility and danger that most foreigners seek to avoid. None of this bodes well for a country striving to prove that it is a safe and sound place to visit and do business.
The reality is, however, that despite this chain of security problems and the recent negative headlines the Philippines has garnered; there is little chance that any of this violence will spread to Metro Manila or other major urban areas. Indeed, all of these incidents can be traced back to the poverty and disenfranchisement long felt across Mindanao. Moreover, for centuries warlord families and rogue militias have exercised more power than any government political or security institution across much of Mindanao. While the “Maguindanao massacre” was dramatic and horrific by any standard; the killing, crime, and kidnapping that branded the closing of 2009 are a longstanding way of life in Mindanao and are not viewed as heinous by the perpetrators as it is seen and imagined by the outside world.
Innately resilient Filipinos and hardened expatriates barely blink an eye when these events transpire. They recognize that despite the violence that will definitely accompany the May 2010 elections and the incapacity of Philippines Government security forces to stop it, there is no crisis in the country and this string of events does not portend a nationwide breakdown of law and order.
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