Islamist Insurgency and Terrorism Report – February 2025
PSA Intelligence recorded four Islamist insurgency-related violent incidents in February 2025. There were two assassination attacks, one armed encounter, and one bombing attack.
In February 2025, PSA recorded four Islamist-related violent incidents. Three of these incidents were attributed to other militants or unidentified individuals, while one was an armed clash between members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). During the period, one government employee was assassinated in Lamitan City, Basilan, while two suspects lobbed a grenade towards a police patrol vehicle in an attempt to evade a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint in Kabacan, North Cotabato.
PSA expects to record more violent incidents that are potentially election-related or criminally motivated as the midterm elections approaches. These incidents may overlap with violent incidents attributed to Islamist militants. The highlighted incidents during the period underscore the risk of violence in the Bangsamoro region during the election period, but do not necessarily point to a worsening security situation as of this time.
In other developments, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the measure to defer the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region from May 12 to October 13, which was widely welcomed by the Bangsamoro Government’s leadership at the time. As of February 18, a measure on reapportioning the seven vacant parliamentary seats in the Bangsamoro Parliament following Sulu’s exit from the region in September last year was recorded pending in the Bangsamoro Parliament.
Currently, however, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-led Bangsamoro Government is dealing with leadership changes after President Marcos appointed Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua as the new interim chief minister on March 9 and new Bangsamoro Transition Authority members on March 10. The official position of the MILF indicates that the group welcomes the recent developments, but some members expressed their dissent regarding some of the appointees who were reportedly outside the MILF’s recommended list to Malacañang. These members have since called on the national government to honor its commitments to the peace process and expressed their intent to explore legal and diplomatic avenues to challenge the appointments.
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