Sayyaf problem to continue sans poverty alleviation – analyst

MANILA, Philippines - Will the perennial kidnapping in Mindanao such as that perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf stop? At least one political analyst thinks it won’t as long as the government fails to address the socio-economic needs of the people in the region. “Kidnapping won’t stop unless the government provides a lasting solution, which is to address poverty in the area," Clarita Carlos, political science professor at the University of the Philippines, told GMANews.TV on Wednesday. According to Carlos, if people’s economic needs are adequately met, they would have a higher self-esteem and would not resort to desperate acts to validate themselves, like what the Abu Sayyaf is doing now with its hostages. “We cannot totally fault the Abu Sayyaf bandits if they are acting irrationally. Why are they getting their validation from cutting heads of people, while others validate themselves by earning graduate degrees? We should have a shared meaning of self-worth and the government must direct society toward that goal," Carlos, president of the Center for Asia Pacific Studies, said. Poverty breeds banditry In her research studies, Carlos said she was able to prove that poverty breeds rebellion and banditry. “For instance, I did a research in Quezon (province), a rebel-infested area. Sobrang hirap dun, ang putik-putik, walang kuryente, ang mga bata ang lalaki ng tiyan kasi puro bulate. [Life there was so hard, it was muddy, there was no electricity, and the stomachs of children became bloated with worms]. So how can you stop them from rebelling if they face these hardships everyday?" she said. The al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf abducted three aid workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sulu province last January 15 after the victims visited a water project for a jail in Jolo town. From 1993 to 2001, the Abu Sayyaf committed at least eight high profile kidnappings that included the April 23, 2000 abduction of 19 foreigners and two Filipinos in Sipadan, Malaysia, and the May 27, 2001 kidnapping of 20 foreign and local tourists from Dos Palmas Beach Resort in Palawan. Reports said the Abu Sayyaf had collected ransom of over US$ 31 million since the group was founded in 1992. Sulu, a known lair of the largest units of the Abu Sayyaf, is among the country’s top 15 poorest provinces. Sulu is under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where 55 percent of families live below the poverty line. In the government’s 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, ARMM’s P47 billion annual family income was the smallest in all regions, equivalent to only 6.4 percent of the National Capital Region’s P734 billion income. - GMANews.TV