ISIS and countering violent extremism

1. What factors should the government address to prevent further recruitment of ISIS
from the vulnerable communities in our country?
2. Which sectors should be prioritized in preventing and countering violent extremism?

1. The poor governance, high incidence of poverty and economic backwardness are
some of the factors which made the southern part of the Philippines become more
vulnerable to the influence of ISIS. These issues are being exploited by the Islamist
terrorist groups to radicalize the minds of Islamic communities through violent
extremism. The number of suicide bombings targeting Catholic churches are being used
to further escalate the conflict between the Muslims and the Christians. It maybe
impossible to fully eradicate their violent ideology, however, their influence can be
lessened by an ideology which can strongly oppose violent extremism.
2. The government must focus on the security aspect particularly in the entry and exit of
foreign nationals from countries which have been known to be affiliated with the ISIS.
Profiling of foreigners must be thoroughly and comprehensively conducted, backed-up
by a systematic database to facilitate their identification.
The Islamist terrorist groups use the social media to influence and gain support to their
violent activities. Thus, a law must be created to strictly regulate the posting/uploading
of videos that promote violence and other activities related to violent extremism.