By Arjay L. Balinbin
Reporter
THE INVOLVEMENT of Israel and Russia in the Philippine government’s counter-terrorism efforts, especially in Mindanao, will be advantageous to the military, but analysts cautioned against the potential for corruption in defense-related contracts.
Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz visited President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the Palace last week to relay their respective condolences to the families of the victims of the Jolo twin blasts and reaffirm their countries’ commitment to help in the fight against terrorism.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said, “Russian Ambassador Khovaev… renewed Russia’s commitment to strengthen their cooperation to help our national defense and significantly improve its capabilities.”
The Israeli envoy, meanwhile, expressed hope in forging greater cooperation between the two countries in the areas of agriculture and trade and said that “terrorism and violent extremism must be defeated.”
Sought for comment, Ateneo Policy Center research fellow Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld on Sunday that Israel and Russia “are keen to access our defense and security sector.”
“They recognize the opportunity that the events in Mindanao have opened to have a significant share in the market,” he said.
The Philippine government, Mr. Yusingco said, “must take these moves seriously,” noting that the two foreign countries’ intention “is not necessarily a bad thing.”
However, the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “must do their due diligence on any offer that may be presented,” he added.
“More importantly, media and civil society must intently monitor developments on this front. We want the entry of these two countries to improve our defense and security in terms of human capability and physical assets. We do not want graft and corruption to mess everything up as we have seen in the past,” Mr. Yusingco said.
University of Santo Tomas (UST) political science professor Marlon M. Villarin, in a phone interview, said the participation of Israel and Russia in counter-terrorism would be a “show of force of what these two countries can do to strengthen our military capability.”
“It is like a practical test whether Russian people can provide our soldiers with better intelligence network and capability. For the Israeli government, we know very well that we are purchasing, not only guns and ammos from them, but it is also a practical test whether their advanced military capability is worth taking into consideration,” he explained.
Mr. Villarin also said that the public should be monitoring the Philippine military and the political aspect of its transactions with the two countries.
“Military, because we really need to know whether we are getting the right resources from the right sources. We know very well that corruption has been one of the [issues] when it comes to our military modernization efforts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said, referring to the previous administration.
He also noted that the United States, a longtime Philippine ally, “does not really like their allies being in a good relationship with Russia,” so we should see “how President (Rodrigo R.) Duterte will be able to harmonize the two separate and yet important foreign partners of our country.”
UST Political Science Department Chairperson Dennis C. Coronacion, in a phone message, said the two countries can also contribute to fighting terrorism through peace-building and economic development programs.
“There are many opportunities for them to get involved in our government’s efforts to maintain peace and order in Mindanao. Russia and Israel, just like Japan and the US, can join in peace building activities in the region. They can also convince their businessmen to invest in Mindanao. Finally, they can train our military and police how to do better intelligence gathering against various terrorist groups operating in the region,” he said.

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