EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW WITH PROF. JULKIPLI WADI, former Dean of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies, May 26, 2017

June 5, 2017

“The declaration of martial law has become a badge of honor for the Maute….”

Q: What was your reaction when you heard the President declare martial law?

JW: Well for one, I was surprised the declaration was made in Russia, when the President is on an official visit. Number 2, why should he cut short his trip and return immediately to the country?

I could just assume the President has his own information regarding the imminent threat posed by the Maute group.

On the contrary, I was not actually surprised, as we understand the persona of the president, he has shown, even in his early days in the campaign period, that the insinuation that he is ready to use hard fist policies, if only to bring law and order in the country, particularly in Mindanao.

And also the fact that early in his administration, I think there was already some  kind of social conditioning regarding the declaration of a state of lawlessness, so you could already, from there, see the trajectory of the President’s orientation, thus that declaration in that sense did not really come as a surprise to me.

But you know, like many others, if the problem is the Maute, and if the problem is generally secluded in the Lanao area, why declare the whole Mindanao under Martial Law? And why even insinuate the possibility of broadening the declaration to include the Visayas, and the rest of the country? So there seems to be that creeping tendency, towards imposing hard-fist rule, not only in Mindanao, but even in the whole country.

Q:- (Defense) Secretary ( Delfin) Lorenzana and some other officials have said that the Maute are actually allied with the ISIS. And because of that they declared martial law?

JW:  That in itself is a contradiction because in the past, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has been consistent, in denying the claim of regional analysts of the alleged alliance between the Maute group and the ISIS in the Middle East.

The armed forces has been quite consistent, especially during the last days of the Aquino Administration, and even to towards the early days of the Duterte Government.

I’m quite surprised, why the radical shift of the armed forces, the same armed forces who said that now there is actually a strong alliance between the ISIS and the Maute.

This is I think the information that has been fed to President Duterte, therefore emboldening , I think,  his theory in the early days, that the next round of war would not necessarily involve the ageing Moro nationalist fronts, but among the young, and radical Muslim groups, like the Maute….

So in other words, it’s also a puzzle to me, why there is this immediate shift, from the AFP perspective of the non-threat previously, and now the imminent threat posed by the Maute, and therefore, it was easy for President Duterte to declare martial law on the basis of the claim, the new claim of the Armed Forces.

Q: On the basis of your studies and your contacts in Mindanao? How true is the links between the Maute and Isis? And how serious is this threat?

JW: Well if you’re asking me for my personal contacts, well I do not have, because my focus of study has been understanding Moro movements, and the phenomenon of Political Islam, especially from  theoretical and analytical viewpoints.

But as far as the linkage, between and among radical groups in the South, I think it should not come as a surprise, if there can be some kind of a, even possibly, a strategic or tactical alliance between say, Moro fronts and CPP-NPA, for the purpose, or the fact that they are facing a common enemy, even if they differ in their ideologies.

It is not far-fetched to think that radical groups, following the Islamist non-conformist line, would even more have the tendency to form alliances among themselves. I think it’s very logical they would have many instances where they would close ranks. Since that is their way to strengthen their forces, number one.

Number two, that is their way be able to manifest, or express their trademark including the use of violence, like their entry into the city of Marawi. In that context, it should be viewed as natural, or with a high-possibility that the links among radical groups, Maute, ASG, BIFF, and others, could be forged not only today, but even in the recent past, number one.

The international link between the ISIS and the Maute group, and others, could also be viewed as, again, a natural recourse of any group who belong to what we refer to as “birds of the same feather, flock together” in order to strengthen their, not only alliance, their network but even their struggles in varying countries and communities.

On the contrary, we also have to delineate the fact that the ISIS operate in totally different context, with that of the Maute and the Abu Sayyaf, in a locale like Southern Philippines. Precisely because there is no strong historicity of ideology formations among the local radical groups because the rootedness of the conflict is so different.

Although they share certain commonalties, in terms of what I refer to as the clash between globalization, western globalization, and the hegemony imposed on the Muslim countries, creating radicalizations, in that context, there is a shared common ground, whether it is Maute, ISIS, you know Al Qaida, or JI, or so on so forth.

But what has to be understood, is the tradition of orthodoxy of political ideology, in the South, is not highly embedded in the culture of the region, like those in the Middle East.

Why? Because we belong to the Malay world. Our Islam highly influenced by varying cultures and civilizations, allowing us to interconnect and mingle other peoples and therefore, the rigidity that orthodoxy has become in the Middle East, including the schism between Sunni and Shia, does not really come far in the Philippine South.

But we are not saying, that this new radicals have not imbued the new dogma and ideology espoused by politicized movements in the Middle East.

What we are saying is, for an ideology to be able develop, it needs a long period of time to nurturing, and the ability to translate, to consolidate it, into practical political program, which the like of ISIS and other, are, i would say, neophytes, in their struggle for a higher level of political Islam in the South.

So the problem there is really to delineate the context in the Middle East, with that of those in the Philippine South, so that we do not become party in transforming what supposedly is a molehill into a mountain.

If we fall into the trap, in some ways, we are subject into the dynamics of the politics of ISIS, including its affiliates believed to be  like the Maute.

The responses of states or governments, especially if it is done in a knee-jerk fashion, might even more become beneficial to the radical group.

What I’m saying is, for a long time, the Maute has been calling for attention from the Philippine government, which the armed forces of the Philippines refuse to accept in the past administrations.

They had to do, I mean, the war and so on and so forth, but with the declaration of marital law, it would appear, even if it was not in the calculations of the Duterte administration to give that kind of benefit.

In truth it sort of answered what the ISIS, including the Maute group, has been asking for, for a long time. The reason, the declaration of martial law, is the presence of the ISIS, so therefore, it becomes like a badge of honor for the Maute to be viewed as the source of the declaration of martial law, not only in Lanao Del Sur, but in the whole of Mindanao. So what big news that this group has created, a cause or a reason for the declaration of martial law.

So this i think these are the dynamics that authorities should have to calculate so that they won’t easily fall into a trap, into ISIS or the politics of the Maute.

What I can say is, for one, the Maute will probably just scatter, i mean given their affiliation with various radical groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, so this is one gray area, into which the Philippines has to contend.

How can the government deal with the Maute? Whose leadership is affiliated with some personalities who are members, who are in fact high-ranking members, officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and with the fact that the government is actually engaged in a peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

So this is very critical as a gray area. Number two, is the alleged collusion of radical groups with that of that of traditional politicians. I mean this is the call of  the Sulu movement group, that even before this declaration, this martial law, that group was already calling, or asking President Duterte for a declaration of martial law in the Sulu area.

In their view, to address the problem posed by the Abu Sayaff, should include, the perceived collusion of politicians in the area. That's second;

The third is, the traditional politicians may ask, why are you pinning us down? When in fact, there are some reports of collusion between very high-ranking officials of the armed forces, and some radical groups.

Ending with proliferation of arms in the south. Where these arms coming from, have you heard of shipments, arrivals of arms from Korea, and so on and so forth, you have not heard.

So what I’m saying is, the problems in Mindanao, does not simply require declaration of martial law, it is so entangled with equally critical variables and issues, like those involving traditional politicians, and legitimate insurgent groups, like the MILF and the proliferation of firearms, and the military, you know as a instrument  of selling and so on and so forth. So these are areas that should be taken into account, in the declaration of martial law. DMS