ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (ISM CT-TC) Karambunai, Sabah, March 2003

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2 ARF Inter-Sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (ISM CT-TC) Karambunai, Sabah, March 2003 BORDER SECURITY - MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE: The Philippine Experience I. INTRODUCTION The recent spate of terrorist activities around the world and the September 11 attack on the United States have dramatically proven that terrorism is a traditional threat that has changed in both its form and virulence. The problem of terrorism has increased in scope and breadth and in the face of this challenge, countries, including the Philippines, are harnessing their internal resources and cooperating with like-minded states to address this issue. One of the challenges to the fight against terrorism is the increased mobility of people through different modes across borders. This situation gives rise to security implications as well as favors the growth and spread of terrorist activities. II. MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE: PHILIPPINE ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORTS The Philippines, on its own as well as through bilateral and multilateral means, has played an active role in the fight against transnational crime, in general, and terrorism, in particular. In 1996, the Philippines hosted the first ever International Conference on Counter-Terrorism, which it did so again four months ago, and in other forums, such as the ASEAN and APEC, the Philippines has also declared its unequivocal resolve to combat terrorism. In view of this commitment, the Philippines continues to undertake measures and initiate activities towards the development and implementation of policy and action against terrorism.

3 Among the anti-terrorism strategies adopted by the Philippines are the following: 1) enhancing knowledge about possible terrorists, their activities, instruments and organizations and plans; 2) increasing preparedness in handling contingencies and managing crisis situations brought about by terrorist attacks; 3) hardening of potential terrorist targets; and, 4) addressing the root causes of terrorism, such as poverty and the perceived iniquities in the distribution of wealth, opportunity and privilege. One of the key areas that have to be looked at in ensuring the implementation and success of the first strategy mentioned is movement of people. In this regard, measures are being undertaken to enforce the strict monitoring and surveillance of points of entry into the country to identify possible terrorists and their supporters. Detection and Arrests To regulate, monitor and record the arrival /departure of foreigners, the Commissioner of Immigration has designated ports of entry at which foreigners may enter the Philippines. The Bureau of immigration (Bl), the Philippines' lead agency in implementing the Philippine Immigration Laws, has designated two (2) main ports and ten (10) sub-ports located in big cities within the Philippines. These are manned by Bureau of Immigration personnel assisted by other Philippine Law Enforcement Agencies. Generally, entry to the Philippines as tourist does not require a visa, except for nationals of some countries who are required to secure a visa prior to their entry. Nationals from other countries not required to secure a visa are granted a 21-day visa provided that they are holders of passports with at least six (6) months validity and a return ticket to the port of origin or a ticket to another destination outside the Philippines. Immigration personnel manning Philippine ports conduct primary and secondary inspection, which include checking of travel documents, counterchecking of records and profiling of arriving passengers. A law enforcement unit and an intelligence unit keep track of all foreigners within the country, to ensure that they are abiding with all the requirements of the condition of stay or visa.

4 The Bl, as a member of the Anti-Terrorism Task Force established under the National Security Adviser, has designated an Action Officer for Anti-Terrorism Operations and Activities under the Office of the Commissioner of Immigration. The Action Officer and about eighty-one (81) agents actively participate in intelligence exchange and build-up on foreign personalities suspectedly involved in international terrorism, and in case operations conducted jointly with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Training of the Philippine military and police forces are ongoing to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities. For January - December 2002, the Bl processed a total of 8,027,908 inbound and outbound Filipinos and foreign nationals through the country's ports and sub-ports. During this same period, 1,946,982 Filipino passengers arrived and an almost equal number of foreigners at 1,954,272. Bl agents excluded 1,124 of the above-mentioned foreign arrivals for being improperly documented, or after being determined as a possible terrorist, a member of foreign criminal syndicates, or a person likely to be a public charge. Through inter-agency efforts, eight (8) suspected international terrorists or known associates of terrorists were arrested. Two (2) were criminally convicted by local courts and are serving their sentences, while six (6) have been deported, including: Fathur Rohman AI-Ghozi; Agus Dwirkarna, Abdul Jamal Balfas and Tamsil Linrung; Nedhal Falah Awwad AI-Dhalain; Ahmad Abdellatif Jubran; Uskar Makawata; Mohammad Amin Suliman Ismael AI-Ghafari. With its successes, the Bl has outlined the following plans and programs to further enhance its capability: Creation of an anti-fraud unit;

5 Acquisition by grant of a Personal Identification and Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) for the country's main ports; Continue monitoring and preventing the entry of unwanted foreigners; Active participation in joint intelligence and security operations; Acquisition of state of the art surveillance equipment; Establishment of a forensic laboratory; Complete computerization; and Passage of a new Immigration Act III. BEST PRACTICES AND INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS The Philippines, being an archipelagic nation, has approximately 36,300 km coastline with no surrounding land borders. Control of inbound and outbound flow of people are limited to twelve ports and sub-ports, manned by our immigration officers. To control more than seven million people coming in and out of the country and identifying from among them the illegals, the would be terrorists and criminals will be a very tough job for our personnel. To address these concerns, the government has adopted several measures to preserve the integrity and sovereignty of the country and to preempt any plans to undermine the security of the Philippines. Among these measures are the following: a. Deployment of police and military personnel in ports where facilities are not adequate to control the movement of people. b. Detailing of police and military personnel to beef up the intelligence and operational capability of the bureau. c. Continuous intelligence exchange and cooperation with neighboring countries and other allied nations. As an aftermath of the 9/11 incident, active interaction has been maintained between the Philippines and other countries which has led to the arrest of suspected terrorists and those wanted by law.

6 d. Creation of an Anti-Terrorism Task Force under the Office of the National Security Adviser to track down and build up cases on suspected terrorists. From among the above measures, the timely exchange of information is proving to be the most effective in combating terrorism. The dissemination and use of information are key to any operational success. IV. AREAS FOR CONTINUED AND/OR FUTURE COOPERATION Although a number of initiatives have been undertaken by countries and groupings to address the menace of terrorism, efforts in the following areas could be enhanced in order to effectively address the current real threat of terrorist activities: Exchange of information and intelligence Coordination of all existing anti-terrorism initiatives Technical assistance to developing countries on institutional capacity building Training and personnel exchanges Routine combined operations