NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through

understanding.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lesson Objectives:

When you finish reading this lesson, you should be able to

1. Get familiar with the various internal and external threats affecting the
national/local security concerns.
2. Prepare action plans in preventing threats in the school and the community as a
contribution in addressing national security concerns.
3. Be aware of their involvement to help address national security concerns
particularly in the community and the university.

NATIONAL SECURITY DEFINED

National security is a term covering both national defense and foreign relations. It
refers to the protection of a nation from attack or other danger by holding adequate
armed forces and guarding state secrets. Specifically, national security means a
circumstance that exists as a result of a military or defense advantage over any foreign
nation or group of nations, or a friendly foreign relations position, or a defense position
capable of successfully protesting hostile or destructive action. (US Legal 2014)

COVERAGE OF NATIONAL SECURITY

The national security includes the following:

1. Economic security
2. Monetary security
3. Energy security
4. Environmental security
5. Military security
6. Political security
7. Energy and Natural Resources security

THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

The National Security Council (NSC) of the Philippines is the principal advisory
body on the proper coordination and integration of plans and policies affecting national
security. The NSC consists of two distinct bodies: The Council Proper and the National
Security Council Secretariat. The Council Proper is a collegial body chaired by the
President. It includes concerned officials of the Cabinet and Congress, as members, as
well as other government officials and private citizens who may be invited by the
President. The Council was created during the Quirino Administration through Executive
Order (EO) No. 115, series of 1986. The NSC Secretariat is a permanent body that
provides technical support to the Council Proper. It is headed by the Director
General/National Security Adviser. (NSC 2014)

THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY

Internal Threats

1. The New People’s Army (NPA). The military wing of the Communist Party of the
Philippines (CPP), the NPA is a Maoist group formed in March 1969 with the aim of
overthrowing the government through protracted guerilla warfare. The NPA primarily
targets Philippine security forces, politicians, judges, government informers, former
rebels who wish to leave the NPA, rival splinter groups, and alleged criminals.
Opposes any US military presence in the Philippines and attacked US military
interests, killing several US service personnel, before the US base closure in1992
(FAS 2014).

2. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). It is an Islamic separatist group operating in the
southern Philippines and claims to promote an independent Islamic state in western
Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Split from the Moro National Liberation Front in
the early 1990’s, the group currently engages in kidnappings for ransom, bombings,
assassinations, and extortion, and has ties to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). The ASG
operates mainly in Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi Provinces in the Sulu Archipelago
and has a presence on Mindanao. Members also occasionally travel to Manila. The
ASG used terror both for financial profit and to promote its jihadist agenda (The
National Counter Terrorism Center 2014).

3. Organized Crime. It is a conspiratorial enterprise engaged in illicit activities as a

means of generating income. Organized crime is a national security concern. The
challenges of illegal drugs, in particular, has grown into a major threat to the national
community. Drug use among the youth has risen alarmingly over the past three
years. The national crime rate is also exacerbated by the drug trade, which involves
a number of crime syndicates.

4. Grave Incidence of Poverty. Poverty is also a serious threat to national security,

especially to the extent that it breeds and abets rebellion, crime and dissidence.
Poverty incidence affects about one-third of Filipino Families nationwide.
Consequently, the distribution of the wealthy minority.

5. Graft and Corruption. Graft is defined as that politician who uses their personal
authority for personal gain. Graft and corruption has become another threat to our
national security by virtue of the huge scale by which it saps public resources,
 undermines the morale of the civil service and affects the delivery of quality basic
services. The recent Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam or “Pork
Barrel Scam” is the latest issue which involves some government officials.

6. Severe Calamities. Natural Calamities causes serious food shortages, abet

hoarding and profiteering, and cause hunger, diseases and deprivation. The
National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC) ensures the focused, coordinated
and systematic application of government and private manpower and resources to
the tasks of disaster mitigation, and community rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The recent disaster that struck the Philippines like the Bohol Earthquake and Super
Typhoon “Yolanda” creates a need for long-term development for the provinces
affected. (De La Salle University 2012)

External Threats

1. Spratly Islands. The multilateral dispute over the Spratly Islands is a source of
intermittent tensions, owing to the build-up of structures, believed to be military-
oriented, by some claimant countries in the area. This is a clear encroachment into
the Philippines EEZ which is being met through a comprehensive package of
diplomatic measures.

2. Smuggling. The smuggling of firearms and contraband, illegal migration and the
occasional movement of foreign terrorists through the porous borders of our
southwestern frontier have elicited transnational concern. Philippine law
enforcement agencies work closely with international police organizations, bilaterally
and multilaterally, to check these activities.

3. Currency Crisis. The lingering effects of the currency crisis affecting the
countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are a cause of
regional anxieties, which tend to aggravate political instabilities and socio-economic
dislocations involving the poorest people.

4. Economic Disparity. The serious economic disparity in many regions and

nations keeps the world in a state of instability and virtually on the brink of war in
many places. Local or regional shortages of fresh water, arable land food, fisheries,
and energy are already causing tensions.

5. Ethnic Religious and Cultural Conflict. This pervades many regions and
nations including our own. It is constantly exacerbated by mass poverty, limited
access to resources, denial of human rights, lack of national integration and
international issues.

6. The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The WMD is a

threat to global security. Nuclear materials and technologies are more accessible
now than at any other time in history. The relative ease of production of both
chemical and biological weapons has made these attractive to terrorists.
7. Transnational Organized Crime. It has proliferated in the era of globalization.
The international Monetary Fund estimates that global drug trafficking now accounts
for two percent of the world economy, excluding illicit capital flight and money-
laundering activity. There are links among drug trafficking, terrorism, smuggling of
illegal aliens, massive financial and bank fraud, arms smuggling and political
corruption. (De La Salle University 2012)