PEACE MONITOR DIGEST

A compilation of brown bag session documentations of the Policy Group

Volume II, Issue No. I

April 2016

INSIDE:
The Near East: A shifting landscape

Aida F. Santos: The warrior victim

Atty. Hector D. Soliman: A man of substance

Undersecretary Robert Francis B. Garcia:

From insurgent to human rights advocate

The Philippine National Police organizational

structure and role in the peace process

OPAPP participants during the Peace orientation: Brown bag session on OPAPP
and the peace process held last February 26, 2016 at Astoria Plaza.

The Near East: A shifting landscape

By Richard J. Heydarian, Political Science Faculty, De La Salle University

December 22, 2015
currently situated in MENA; foremost is the OFW's welfare
and protection amidst the existing crisis. These developments
may affect economic relations. Coming into play are trade and
investment interests, especially the economic implications
alongside these developments, and the threat brought about by
Islamic radicalism.
Key Developments in Near East
Since mid-2014, there has been a steady decline in oil prices.
This is beneficial to hydrocarbon-importing countries like the
Philippines, for it serves as cushion against currency depreciation.
But the situation leaves the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Companies (OPEC) in disarray, with post-sanctions Iran
expected to flood the markets to regain shares. The Iranian nuclear
negotiations, drawing to a close after two years of intensive talks
between Obama and Rouhani administrations, are expected to
bring about a huge economic bonanza and shift in the consumer
market.

Introduction
The Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region has been mired
with crisis, both economically and financially. A major predicament
in the area is the absorption of its ever-increasing population to
a much limited labor market, possibly crippling opportunities for
the members of its labor force.1 Aside from these, there has been
an increase in extremist activity in MENA, furthering the security
risks to its populace.

However, the entry of Iran in the market is a game changer. Having

fuelled competition, a decline in oil prices will severely implicate
Gulf economies. This can result to declining demand for OFWs,
rise of protectionist lobby (Saudization or Nitaqat system), which
may significantly affect willingness to rely on foreign labor and
breakdown in domestic social contracts. The downward pressure
on all other suppliers may cause regional anxiety and rivalry,
particularly from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Escalating tensions in the MENA is a matter that merits Philippine

interest. Over 2.2 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) are

Emergence of DAESH
Among the matters evoking global concern to the area is the
emergence of DAESH () . DAESH is an
acronym for the Arabic phrase al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham
(Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). It is another word for ISIS that
ISIS militants do not favor because of its similarity to the Arabic
words 'Daes', 'one who crushes something underfoot' and 'Dahes',
translated as 'one who sows discord'.2
ISIS began as a branch of Al-Qaeda, founded in Iraq in
2004 after the American invasion and headed by Ayman
al-Zawahiri. It filled the security and governmental
void created by the disintegration of the Iraqi army and
Saddam Hussein's regime, accompanied by the increasing
alienation of the Sunni Muslims from the central, Shi'iteaffiliated government in Baghdad sponsored by the United
States. It is an Islamic Salafist-jihadi organization. Salafism
is an extremist Sunni political-religious movement within
Islam that seeks to restore the golden era of the dawn
of Islam that is to be done, according to Salafist jihadist
ideology, by jihad (a holy war) against both internal and
external enemies. Jihad, according to Salafist jihadism,
is the personal duty of every Muslim. Al-Qaeda and the
global jihad organizations (of which ISIS is one) sprang
from Salafist jihadism.3

State-building
and conventional
warfare (building
modern Caliphate
now)

Communication Sermons and top-down

Strategy
formal communication

Bottom-up PR
offensive, utilizing
social media and
Hollywood-like
violence and
cinematics

Ideology

Centrality of the
End of Days
apocalyptic battle

Top leadership, mostly

composed of elite
Sunni members,
were dismissive of
apocalyptic battle

Threat to Mindanao
As in Al Qaeda, the Daesh is moving towards far enemy. In one
of its publications, the group called on its supporters, At this
point of the crusade against the Islamic State, it is very important
that attacks take place in every country that has entered into the
alliance against the Islamic State, especially the United States,
United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Germany."
So far, focus has been on coalition forces fighting it (e.g., NATO,
Russia, Iran). But as DAESH suffers reversals at home, it is striking
back abroad. Mindanao is a perfect target being a long standing
US ally. Given the reality that a significant number of communities
in Muslim Mindanao have not yet been reached by development
interventions and peace gains, the opportunity for radicalism
remains high.

Al Qaeda vs DAESH

Near enemy
and sectarian
warfare

Focused on
spectacular surgical
attacks against highly
symbolic targets,
especially in the West

The more setbacks and defeats the DAESH experience, the more
things they will do to keep up with recruitment. Containment and
protracted implosion may only be the only viable counter-strategy
against the group. This is much like the balloon effect the more
you force them into a corner, they will budge somewhere else. The
war in Middle East may be pushed outside.

DAESH is not on Facebook and Google, but on Twitter recruiting

young, predominantly middle-class people. Muslim youth who
dont feel they belong in the west are examples of Daesh recruits.
Initially, they relied on foreign fighters, a lot of whom are from
Tunisia; now, they are recruiting both from the ground and from all
over, using social media as a major platform.

Far enemy
Critical of anti-Shia
attacks

Targets

The near enemy is the term used by radical Islamist

groups to speak of the government acting in Muslimmajority countries and seen as illegitimate because it is
hostile to the propagation of Islam within state structures.
The far enemy, on the other hand, include international
supporters and sponsors of corrupt Arab or Muslimmajority regimes.4

They also believe that the anti-Messianic Battle of Dabiq known

in Muslim apocalyptic literature as Dajjal, will come from the
Khorasan region of eastern Iran and will kill a vast number of the
Caliphates fighters until just 5,000 remain, cornered in Jerusalem.
Just as Dajjal prepares to finish them off, Jesusthe second mostrevered prophet in Islamwill return to Earth, spare Dajjal, and
lead the Muslims to victory. They believe they have to hasten the
caliphates for Dabiq; they want to go to the end of times and will
use all kinds of savagery and psychological warfare to make this
happen.

Focus

Local clients,
regimes are their
enemies

The Daesh combines conventional military capability with

systematic terror and urban warfare tactics. But since October
2014, when NATO forces started bombing them, there has been
a steady shift from "near enemy" to "far enemy", the West and its
allies. In addition to this, the already tenuous counter-alliance in
the area is further divided by competing geopolitical interests and
divergent threat perceptions.

DAESH doesn't believe in nation-states and treaties that created

modern Arab world; they instead believe in overturning the
Westphalian system. They believe in the immediate creation
of the Caliphate, defending and expanding it with no borders
and enjoying permanent peace, and sees diplomacy as shirk
(polytheism). They demand bayaa (pledge of loyalty) from Muslims
around the world as their only means of salvation.

DAESH

Spectacular, symbolic
attacks

A New Leviathan

This phenomenon feeds on and fuels sectarian rifts, such as

Al Qaedas deliberate attacks against Shia shrines; failure/
unwillingness of the Maliki government of Iraq in reintegrating
Sunni tribal leaders into the state apparatus; and the war of Alewite
al-Assad, Syria's ruling family, on the (Sunni) population.

Al Qaeda

Style of Attack

Wahabbist ulamma graduates from Saudi. How do you talk to

Wahabbists in the Philippines?

Potential threats include sympathizers and weak links within

the MILF, including the 105th Base Command involved in the
Mamasapano massacre, groups that have pledged allegiance
to DAESH such as Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Rajah Soleiman Movement (RSM) and
Khilafa Islamiya Mindanao (KIS), Ansar al-Khalifa (AK).

One of the challenges is how to preserve unity between

Islam. Call a spade a spade; come up with certain judicial
proceedings to make sure these kinds of messages dont
spread (damage control). Hanbalist school has been in the
minority for a thousand years no wonder, because of the
message they bring. But now they are in the mainstream; we
are facing people determined to give up their lives. A Daesh
man was quoted saying he loves death as much as he loves
life.

Policy Options

Revisit the trajectory of OFW demand in the Persian Gulf

countries amid declining oil revenues
Carefully study business opportunities in post-sanctions
Iran, particularly in agricultural exports
Double down on intelligence-sharing vis--vis DAESH,
particularly in terms of its tentacles in the Persian Gulf
and Mindanao
Get the Peace Process right

4. Daesh focused on "near enemy". What made you conclude

theyre moving towards Asia? Is there a connection with Jemaah
Islamiyah?
Airstrikes have contained DAESH, and thats why they cannot
make huge movements lest US and NATO forces bomb them.
The very strength of Hanbalist movement, one of the four
Sunni schools of thought, which is to separate geopolitics
from religion, is taken after Mongolians. This shift happened
around October last year. If they do something spectacular
sacrificed $100,000 and more people they get 8 days
of coverage on CNN. They see a strategic game in media
coverage.

Question & Answer

Considering the fact that majority of DAESH are Sunni, there
seems to be a growing number of Shiite mosques; even a
foundation in Metro Manila is said to be supporting Shiite.
Growth in radicalism in Islam supported by Al Qaeda coincides
with growth and Malaysia/Indonesia, and instigates more
radicalism in the south.
There is a globalization of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist
ideology promoted by Saudi ; be careful about getting
help from Saudi Arabia. In the case of Pakistan, there is
protection of minority groups. The bigger concerns are
the Saudi-led initiatives; Perso-Turkohite version of Islam,
a more fundamentalist interpretation, has reached the
Philippines. Islam that reached us 1000 years ago was more
moderate. The Government should have oversight strategy
over Madrasah; violent Salafism feeds on political Salafism,
and theological arguments are provided to justify these
arguments.

5. The poorest are not just the most vulnerable, but also the
most alienated. Both Muslims and Christians have been going
to the caliphate. The peace process is a necessary precondition;
the dynamics of internal sectarian movement didnt start as
Christian-Muslim thing. Rather, the internal sectarianism here
is within Philippine fault lines. Exposing fault lines makes you
vulnerable to the opposition. Our response and safeguards may
not be properly addressed.
The phenomenon of terror is to be able to do anything, even at
the cost of your own life. It has been our good fortune in so far
as we havent had any suicide bombers. To understand, if you
arent purist in anything, does that make you not want to die for
anything. It is the direct line to terror. Why?

1. On the Philippine governments lack of program or

comprehensive strategy on de-radicalization
When DAESH was powerful enough and attacked Mosul,
they freed prisoners and these would join their ranks.
Prison is supposedly corrective system, but ironically has
become networking places [for militants]. Lowly criminals
should be separated, as they will only be brainwashed by
the bigger boys.

We must be careful about suicide culture. In the modern

world, kamikaze is the start.
There was no way to defeat enemy using traditional warfare
so guerrilla warfare was taken on to another level to close
tactical imbalance, and defeat the enemy politically.
Jihadists realized the way to defeat the west is through
suicide bombing or some other extreme way. There is no
better way to express commitment to creed than push the
button to the last.

Can there be a de-radicalization program? Such is being

looked into in Denmark and Germany [for former jihadists
returning from the warfronts]. Maybe organizations and
government agencies supportive of this can look into
the intervention, and look for those amenable to logical
discussion. Ex-prisoners may be recruited for intelligence
operations or as speakers.

Poverty is encouraging the middle class to take up the baton

of fighting (Messianic complex). A lot of people defected
on the basis of salary, for they are paid five times than
Wahabbists. Look at the war economy Daesh is the new
permutation of Shia oppression. If we dont have a strong
civil society, we will have weak state institutions.

Saudi has an example of this de-radicalization program.

It is not only about physical comfort, but also theological
argumentation. AFP is doing their best, but they should be
involved in this program, and there is also a sense of urgency
in this. The operative term today is mutation they [ASG] can
evolve from bandits to others. It is critical to take these threats
seriously; lets not make that mistake and it is always better to
err on the side of caution.

MENA Ministerial Brief - OECD. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from https://www.oecd.org/mena/
menaministerialbrief.htm
2
Oakley, N. (2016, March 26). What does Daesh mean? ISIS 'threatens to cut out the tongues' of anyone
using this word. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/whatdaesh-mean-isis-threatens-6841468
3
Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. (2014). ISIS: Portrait of a Jihadi Terrorist
Organization. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/Data/articles/
Art_20733/101_14_Ef_1329270214.pdf
4
Challand, B. (2015, January 10). When the Far Enemy becomes Near. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://www.publicseminar.org/2015/01/when-the-far-enemy-becomes-near/#.Vx3dGvl97IU
1

2. There is polarization of the issue; it is difficult to talk to

Aida F. Santos: The warrior victim

Aida Santos is co-founder
of
Womens
Education,
Development, Productivity
and Research Organization
(WeDpro), a non-government
organization and Katipunan ng
Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan
(KALAYAAN),
a
peoples
organization, that help women
and youth in the fringes of
communities and protect them
against all forms of violence.
Aida is also a trainer, researcher,
educator, writer, human rights
advocate, feminist, and has
served as consultant to various national and international
development agencies.

journey and her sister Violetas letters from the underground, and
the unacknowledged participation of Filipino American women in
the anti-dictatorship movement reflected in the stories of Geline
Avila and Cindy Domingo who joined the Union of Democratic
Filipinos or the Katipunan ng mga Demokratikong Pilipino (KDP) in
the US. The book helps the wome, by sharingtheir experiences, to
heal with the hope that people will understand. Their plea: Never
again to the dark years of martial law and authoritarian regime.
Aida said that in times of natural disasters and conflicts, women
are the most vulnerable to sufferings and abuses due to continued
exposure to violence and exploitation such as sexual abuse,
violence in the home, separation of families, exploitative labor, and
exclusion from life-saving humanitarian assistance. Sana maisulat
din ang kwento ng ibang kababaihan na biktima ng karahasan at
kalamidad. Doing so will put closure to the experience, heal the
wounds, and make them at peace with themselves and others.
According to Aida, there are two levels of peace: peace at the
personal level and peace at the national and international levels.
The first should be achieved before we can talk of peace at the
national level. Without inner peace in the individual, it will be hard
to communicate and interact peacefully with others.

At the OPAPP general assembly, Aida started her sharing with the
words printed on her shirt: Never again, never forget. She said that
what happened during the Marcos regime should not be repeated
and that people should not forget the injustices and human rights
abuses committed during those years. She said she is lucky to
have survived to tell her stories. Bearing the stigma of the abuse, it
took ten years for her to share with her husband and children the
violence she suffered in arbitrary detention where she remained
incommunicado for six months.

When asked about her message to the men of OPAPP, Aida was
quick to retort: Continue the struggle for womens rights. Her
message is clear: men should work hand in hand with women in
their continuing quest and struggle for gender equality and in
their advocacies in promoting the rights and welfare of women
and children.

As a matter of fact, her ordeal in the hands of abusive military

personnel during the martial law years were narrated in the
recently launched book, Women Against Marcos: Stories of Filipino
and Filipino American Women Who Fought a Dictator, written by
Mila de Guzman, a San Franciscobased author and an Inquirer US
Bureau Correspondent. The book also includes the stories of other
revolutionary feminists and political activists, i.e., Mila Aguilar,
Aurora Javate de Dios, Sr. Mary John Mananzan, the authors own

(During OPAPP Flag Ceremony and General Assembly on 7 March

2016, Ms. Aida Santos was the guest speaker. As a staunch advocate
of peace and womens rights, the experiences and insights that she
shared have inspired all those present and moved them to pursue the
same advocacies)

Atty. Hector D. Soliman: A man of substance

accomodationrefers to the
provision
of
conditions,
situations, equipment, and
environment that enable
an individual to effectively
perform his or her job thereby
providing good life, work
and equal protection. In
support of the definition of
these principles, he provided
examples,
lessons,
and
analogies based on his trueto-life experiences at home, at
work, with his family and coworkers both here and abroad.

Hector is a man of action. He has been involved in the

government, as a senior government official; or in the private
sector, as a consultant. He is a team leader, certified lawyer, human
right advocate, mediator, civil servant and community organizer,
and maintains admirable patience and understanding amidst the
complexities and demands of their respective occupations and
tasks in life.
His message for the National Womens Month albeit simple is
inspiring and encouraging: in the arena of life, regardless of sex,
creed, race, language, health condition, age, ethnic, social or
national origin, and sexual and political preference, everybody
should be equally treated and respected, not discriminated, and
must be reasonably accommodated.
The principle of equality and non-discrimination, according to
Hector, guarantees that those in unequal circumstances are dealt
with equally in law and practice. The principle of equality can,
in certain instances, require a state to take affirmative action in
order to diminish, or eliminate conditions that cause or help to
perpetuate discrimination. On the other hand, reasonable

Hector is sensitive to the plight and condition of women and

understands their role in the family and society. He narrated how,
as a young working father, he had to take care of their newly-born
child so that her wife could go to her speaking engagements.
Image from http://incitegov.org/about-us/members/hector-soliman/

Many years later, while working in Bangladesh as head of a project

management team that implemented a British-funded program
on providing technical and financial support to NGOs dedicated to
giving service to the poor and marginalized sectors, Hector shared
how he stood by the side of one of his team members who did her
tasks well but was contemplating on leaving her job, go back to
the Philippines and attend to her baby. Considering that she was
performing well, Hector had to negotiate with the management
so that she could bring her baby and the yaya to Bangladesh. This
negotiation resulted to the principals issuance of a policy wherein
the management will shoulder their fare, accommodation and
food if the child was under three years of age. This, Hector said, is a

clear example of the principle of reasonable accommodation.

Hector continues his advocacy in the promotion of the rights and
welfare of the women, the poor, the marginalized, and the most
vulnerable sectors of Philippine society.
(Atty. Hector Soliman was the guest speaker during OPAPP Flag
Ceremony and General Assembly on 21 March 2016.)

Undersecretary Robert Francis B. Garcia:

From insurgent to human rights advocate
At that time, 66 suspected DPAs were already executed. He suffered
a broken jaw, concussions on different parts of the body, and worst
of all, a battered psyche that would take time to heal. Although
he was a candidate for execution, he was lucky enough to have
survived the ordeal.
The experience he had during detention became a turning point
in his life. He began to see the futility of the communist insurgency
and started to expose the human rights violations perpetrated by
the communist party. In 2001, he published a memoir about his
experience, To Suffer thy Comrades, which became a national
best-seller in the Philippines.
In 2003, Bobby, together with a group of people who were directly
or indirectly victimized by the CPP-NPAs internal purges, formed
an organization called the Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing and
Justice (PATH) to explore various legal options to obtain justice and
seek redress for the atrocities committed against them. This has
not been an easy task since war is still waging. The CPP-NPA is still
armed and active, and the end to the violent conflict between the
government and the CPP-NPA is nowhere in sight. Thus, addressing
the issue of past violations inevitably gets mired in political
maneuvering.

As a young student during the Martial law years, Bobby

Garcia was infected with youthful idealism. He was one of
the thousands of individuals who were disgruntled and eager
to end Marcos brutal dictatorship. He became a member of the
national democrats and became an active street parliamentarian,
advancing the struggle of the people for social justice. During
that time, "communism" enjoyed considerable support. Joining
the movement seemed the normal thing to do. Convinced of the
necessity of revolution even after the 1986 EDSA People Power
Uprising, he took up arms at the prime of his youth and joined
the communist insurgency that waged war against the State.
His passion even led him to recruit many student activists to the
armed movement.

Nonetheless, he is not ready to give up. He continued to fight,

no longer as an insurgent but as a warrior for peace. He became
consultant of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) that was set up
by the Government and the CPP-NPA-NDF in 2004, to monitor each
others compliance with the signed Comprehensive Agreement on
Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law
(CARHRHIL).

Soon, however, his life as a communist insurgent turned into

a nightmare. He was prepared to suffer torture and perhaps
gruesome death from the hands of government soldiers, but he
never expected that the blows would come from the hands of his
very own comrades.

Bobby does not regret his actions and perhaps, considers the
frightening ordeals from the hands of his comrades as a blessing
in disguise. He viewed it as part of his lifes experience. If this had
not happened, he would not be where he is now: fighting for truth,
justice and human rights.

It was late 1980s when the CPP-NPA conducted internal purges

caused by paranoia over government penetration in the
movement. The Communist Party launched numerous and
bloody anti-infiltration campaigns to ferret out suspected deep
penetration agents (DPAs) within its ranks. The pattern in all these
anti-DPA campaigns was frighteningly similar: suspicion, arrest,
interrogation, forced confession, detention, execution. It was in
November 1988 when he was arrested and tortured along with 56
other chained guerrillas in the Sierra Madre mountain range.

(In observance of the 30th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power

Revolution, the Office of the Undersecretary for Programs invited USec.
Robert Francis Bobby Garcia from the Office of the Political Adviser
as guest speaker for the OPAPP Flag Ceremony and General Assembly
on 29 February 2016)