Arroyo and her HSA

The Philippines is no longer the weakest link in the regional fight against terror with the implementation of the Human Security Act (HSA) last weekend, President Arroyo said Monday.

"The Philippines has been a strong link in the war on terror. We have been able to (gain) a lot of headway," Mrs. Arroyo told Reuters in an interview at Malacañang on Saturday.

"The lair of the terrorists gets smaller as our area of peace and understanding gets bigger," she said.

Protests greeted the law’s implementation last Sunday, and communist rebels even threatened to intensify their offensive in response. Some quarters, particularly leftist groups, believe the Arroyo administration intends to use the law to harass its political opponents.

In her Reuters’ interview, Mrs. Arroyo boasted of the breakthroughs in her administration’s war on terror, particularly against the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf. She said she expected to chalk up more victories with the HSA in force.

The Philippines has long been considered the weakest link in the war against terror in the region due to its poorly equipped and corruption-prone military and police forces as well as its lax border controls.

Security experts also said the lack of an anti-terror law also makes it hard for the Philippines to coordinate with other nations on cross-border terror activities.

The President noted the administration has a "new paradigm for peace in Mindanao," where private armies and loose firearms abound and where the government is battling two big rebel groups – the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

"It is a combination of soft and hard power. We meld together interfaith dialogue and cultural awareness, economic development and infrastructure development in the former conflict areas and mutual security arrangements to isolate the terrorists – that’s where the hard power comes in. It’s been a good paradigm," Mrs. Arroyo said. "It’s a paradigm we wish to share to the world."


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Good luck to us, citizens of the Philippines. although she has a point that this will lessen malicious mischiefs, this is not an assurance for it. how can we know that the government is not behind some of those mischiefs for this act to be passed?

what if they just planned those to implement this act and use HSA against her enemies and arch-rivals.

If she has no bad intention, then good for us. I am neutral about this act because i have done nothing wrong to be monitored. im just one ordinary Juan Dela Cruz, enjoying everyday of my life as a young adult, living one day at a time using God's ways.