Everything we do in our world today depends on trust. The credit card you use to buy your clothes is a small example. The store trusts the credit card company will pay them, and the company trusts you will pay them. You trust the quality of the clothes you bought.
If we choose to do something with people we trust, it normally gets done faster. Trust greases all successful endeavors. Without it, everything can grind to a stop – with people who are supposed to act paying lip service but doing little else.
It seems like for the first time in a long time, problems of public trust of security forces have been – or are being – addressed; and on the political side, trust in a government administration has never been so high. These key factors reset the stage for dealing with terrorism in the Philippines.
The fight against terrorism is a battle for the trust of the public – what military officers refer to as “the battle for hearts and minds.” In order to fight terrorism, authorities have to “drain the swamp” – minimize public support because that’s the oxygen that breathes life into terrorism.
Sometimes the terrorists are more trusted by the public. That’s when they get more recruits and create more safe havens. Other times, the military and government wins the trust of the people. That’s the prize.
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