Rommel Banlaoi
Encyclopedia
Rommel C. Banlaoi is an internationally acknowledged Filipino expert on terrorism research and security studies. He is currently the Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research (PIPVTR) and Head of its Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies (CINSS). PIPVTR is an independent, non-government research-oriented organization that aims to counter political violence and terrorism through peace research.
In recognition of his initiative to apply peace research in the study of terrorism and security issues, Professor Banlaoi, as he is fondly called by his colleagues, friends, and students, was awarded the Albani Peace Prize Award for Peace Education in 2011 along with former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino (posthumous award for leading the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution) and Moro National Liberation Front founder, Nur Misuari (for peace process), among others. He is the outgoing Chairman of the Council for Asian Transnational Threat Research (CATR), a consortium of some of the best research organizations on counter-terrorism research, which includes experts from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Japan.
Rommel Banlaoi had ties with the Singapore-based International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) considered to be one of the largest counterterrorism research and training centres in the world. He continues to have strong networks with the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation based in New York and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) based in Kuala Lumpur. Some of his research projects were funded by the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) and the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), both based in the United States. He sits as a Member of the Board of the Philippines Association for Chinese Studies (PACS), Center for Political and Democratic Reforms, Inc. (CPDRI), and Mayor's Development Center (MDC).
Professor Banlaoi currently teaches at the Department of International Studies, College of International, Humanitarian and Development Studies of Miriam College, the Philippines where he handles undergraduate and graduate courses in international peace and security as well as global issues. He worked as professor of political science and international relations at the National Defense College of the Philippines where he became Vice President. He also served as assistant professor in international studies at De La Salle University, instructor in political science at the University of the Philippines (Los Banos), and University Research Associate at the University of the Philippines (UP Diliman), where he took his BA, MA and PhD (ABD or All But Dissertation status) all in Political Science. Actually, Banlaoi did not acquire his PhD in UP for having failed to finish his dissertation on the Abu Sayyaf Group, which gave him a mark in terrorism research. Sources from UP said that Banlaoi did not finish his PhD for having reached the maximum residency rule (MRR). But Banlaoi is reportedly taking another PhD studies abroad and is currently writing his dissertation on Philippines-China relations and the South China Sea Disputes. Banlaoi served as a Fellow of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolullu, Hawaii; Visiting Fellow at Leiden University, The Netherlands; and Visiting Professor at various universities and research-oriented think-tanks in Brunei, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam, among others. He is also currently a Senior Fellow at the Yuchengco Center of De La Salle University where two of his works were published.
Rommel Banlaoi has to his credits numerous international publications, which include the best-selling terrorism trilogy: Philippine Security in the Age of Terror; Counter-Terrorism Measures in Southeast Asia: How Effective Are They; and War on Terrorism in Southeast Asia. His latest publication on terrorism research is entitled Terrorism and National Security: Emerging Issues and Continuing Trends a Decade After 9/11, which describes his most recent threat assessments of Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Abu Sayyaf Group, among others, ten years after 9/11.. He has also published widely on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), maritime security,, maritime terrorism in Southeast Asia,, globalization and nation-building, security sector reform, ASEAN regionalism, the rise of China, and South China Sea disputes that appeared in internationally refereed journals such as Asian Affairs, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Foreign Relations Journal, Indian Ocean Survey, Naval War College Review, Parameters and Southeast Asian Affairs.
Rommel Banlaoi is a controversial academic. Newsbreak Magazine, an independent investigative on-line magazine reported that he was banned by the Secretary of National Defense (SND) for his "unauthorized use" of intelligence information in his lectures and publications. But the Department of National Defense (DND) argues that he was not actually "banned" by the Defense department. SND just instructed the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to exercise caution in dealing with Professor Banlaoi because of allegedly misrepresenting himself as consultant of the DND to obtain information. But Professor Banlaoi replied that he did not misrepresent himself. In a Newsbreak article, Professor Banlaoi said that "he resigned from government service in 2008 although he did consulting work for the DND “sometime in 2003 to 2007″ when he was on “special detail” from the National Defense College of the Philippines where he was teaching then. As such, he wrote, he “never claimed to be a consultant of the DND” since his resignation. But, he added: “I have to admit that, in some of my published works, I wrote that I provided consulting work for the DND… But since I entered the private sector, I never misrepresented myself…” This controversy, however, has been somehow settled. Professor Banlaoi is already allowed to deliver "critical" and "candid" lectures at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDPC), Command General Staff College (CGSC), and the Special Intelligence Training School (SITS) as an independent academic.
Another controversy happened when Rommel Banlaoi became the banner headline of Philippine Daily Inquirer when he was reported to have said that foreign bombers associated with Jemaah Islamiyah had made contacts with the Abu Sayyaf Group. Though the military initially denied the disclosure of Banlaoi, the AFP recently reported that it was tracking down at least five terrorists still hiding in the Philippines.
Rommel Banlaoi was again caught in controversies when he supported the travel advisories of foreign embassies about the imminent terrorist threats in the Philippines in November 2010. Banlaoi was linked to the issuance of these travel advisories, which were released after his group organized an international security conference where these six countries reportedly attended. Banlaoi even warned of a possible terror threat in Metro Manila that could target foreign embassies and transportation facilities. But government officials argued that terror attacks in Metro Manila were unlikely and even belittled the expertise of Banlaoi to make such warning. The January 25, 2011 bus bombing in Makati City seemed to have confirmed the fear of Banlaoi. This prompted Banlaoi to write an article for Newsbreak urging the Philippine government to be more consultative with non-government players to deal with terror threats.
Despite these controversies, Banlaoi's views on many security issues continue to be sought by media, foreign embassies and even government offices. He frequently lectures in local and international conferences. His books and publications are also being required in universities in the Philippines and abroad. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) describes him as one of the top Filipino security experts. Even Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin declared Banlaoi as a "respectable researcher" during the celebration of the 72nd Founding Anniversary of the DND.
Banlaoi was put again in the spotlight when he warned of possible retaliatory attacks after the death of Osama bin Laden
. While the Philippine government contends that Philippine security forces are ready for possible retaliatory attacks, Professor Banlaoi underscores that the death of bin Laden does not mark the end of Al-Qaeda and its influence in the Philippines. In fact, Professor Banlaoi asserts that Al-Qaeda linked JI operatives in the Philippines use marriages to deepen ties with ASG.
Rommel Banlaoi currently maintains two blog sites: Declassified Information and Free as a Bird. He occasionally writes a column entitled "Open Secret" for Lobbyist and is a contributor to Newsbreak and Philippine Star.
On a trivial side of Rommel Banlaoi, it is not widely known that he appeared in Circus album of Eraserheads, a Filipino rock band formed in the 90s by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. In the Circus album, he is the Professor Banlaoi in the album filler number 9 entitled Prof. Banlaoi's Transcendental Medication Every After Six Months or Punk Zappa Three. It was composed and spoken by Marcus Adoro, Professor Banlaoi's dorm mate and guitar buddy at Narra Residence Hall of UP Diliman. Many Eraserheads' fans thought that Professor Banlaoi was only a fictitious character in Circus album. He is, in fact, a real person who now lives in Quezon City.
In recognition of his initiative to apply peace research in the study of terrorism and security issues, Professor Banlaoi, as he is fondly called by his colleagues, friends, and students, was awarded the Albani Peace Prize Award for Peace Education in 2011 along with former Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino (posthumous award for leading the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution) and Moro National Liberation Front founder, Nur Misuari (for peace process), among others. He is the outgoing Chairman of the Council for Asian Transnational Threat Research (CATR), a consortium of some of the best research organizations on counter-terrorism research, which includes experts from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Japan.
Rommel Banlaoi had ties with the Singapore-based International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) considered to be one of the largest counterterrorism research and training centres in the world. He continues to have strong networks with the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation based in New York and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) based in Kuala Lumpur. Some of his research projects were funded by the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) and the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), both based in the United States. He sits as a Member of the Board of the Philippines Association for Chinese Studies (PACS), Center for Political and Democratic Reforms, Inc. (CPDRI), and Mayor's Development Center (MDC).
Professor Banlaoi currently teaches at the Department of International Studies, College of International, Humanitarian and Development Studies of Miriam College, the Philippines where he handles undergraduate and graduate courses in international peace and security as well as global issues. He worked as professor of political science and international relations at the National Defense College of the Philippines where he became Vice President. He also served as assistant professor in international studies at De La Salle University, instructor in political science at the University of the Philippines (Los Banos), and University Research Associate at the University of the Philippines (UP Diliman), where he took his BA, MA and PhD (ABD or All But Dissertation status) all in Political Science. Actually, Banlaoi did not acquire his PhD in UP for having failed to finish his dissertation on the Abu Sayyaf Group, which gave him a mark in terrorism research. Sources from UP said that Banlaoi did not finish his PhD for having reached the maximum residency rule (MRR). But Banlaoi is reportedly taking another PhD studies abroad and is currently writing his dissertation on Philippines-China relations and the South China Sea Disputes. Banlaoi served as a Fellow of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolullu, Hawaii; Visiting Fellow at Leiden University, The Netherlands; and Visiting Professor at various universities and research-oriented think-tanks in Brunei, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam, among others. He is also currently a Senior Fellow at the Yuchengco Center of De La Salle University where two of his works were published.
Rommel Banlaoi has to his credits numerous international publications, which include the best-selling terrorism trilogy: Philippine Security in the Age of Terror; Counter-Terrorism Measures in Southeast Asia: How Effective Are They; and War on Terrorism in Southeast Asia. His latest publication on terrorism research is entitled Terrorism and National Security: Emerging Issues and Continuing Trends a Decade After 9/11, which describes his most recent threat assessments of Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Abu Sayyaf Group, among others, ten years after 9/11.. He has also published widely on the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), maritime security,, maritime terrorism in Southeast Asia,, globalization and nation-building, security sector reform, ASEAN regionalism, the rise of China, and South China Sea disputes that appeared in internationally refereed journals such as Asian Affairs, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Foreign Relations Journal, Indian Ocean Survey, Naval War College Review, Parameters and Southeast Asian Affairs.
Rommel Banlaoi is a controversial academic. Newsbreak Magazine, an independent investigative on-line magazine reported that he was banned by the Secretary of National Defense (SND) for his "unauthorized use" of intelligence information in his lectures and publications. But the Department of National Defense (DND) argues that he was not actually "banned" by the Defense department. SND just instructed the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to exercise caution in dealing with Professor Banlaoi because of allegedly misrepresenting himself as consultant of the DND to obtain information. But Professor Banlaoi replied that he did not misrepresent himself. In a Newsbreak article, Professor Banlaoi said that "he resigned from government service in 2008 although he did consulting work for the DND “sometime in 2003 to 2007″ when he was on “special detail” from the National Defense College of the Philippines where he was teaching then. As such, he wrote, he “never claimed to be a consultant of the DND” since his resignation. But, he added: “I have to admit that, in some of my published works, I wrote that I provided consulting work for the DND… But since I entered the private sector, I never misrepresented myself…” This controversy, however, has been somehow settled. Professor Banlaoi is already allowed to deliver "critical" and "candid" lectures at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDPC), Command General Staff College (CGSC), and the Special Intelligence Training School (SITS) as an independent academic.
Another controversy happened when Rommel Banlaoi became the banner headline of Philippine Daily Inquirer when he was reported to have said that foreign bombers associated with Jemaah Islamiyah had made contacts with the Abu Sayyaf Group. Though the military initially denied the disclosure of Banlaoi, the AFP recently reported that it was tracking down at least five terrorists still hiding in the Philippines.
Rommel Banlaoi was again caught in controversies when he supported the travel advisories of foreign embassies about the imminent terrorist threats in the Philippines in November 2010. Banlaoi was linked to the issuance of these travel advisories, which were released after his group organized an international security conference where these six countries reportedly attended. Banlaoi even warned of a possible terror threat in Metro Manila that could target foreign embassies and transportation facilities. But government officials argued that terror attacks in Metro Manila were unlikely and even belittled the expertise of Banlaoi to make such warning. The January 25, 2011 bus bombing in Makati City seemed to have confirmed the fear of Banlaoi. This prompted Banlaoi to write an article for Newsbreak urging the Philippine government to be more consultative with non-government players to deal with terror threats.
Despite these controversies, Banlaoi's views on many security issues continue to be sought by media, foreign embassies and even government offices. He frequently lectures in local and international conferences. His books and publications are also being required in universities in the Philippines and abroad. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) describes him as one of the top Filipino security experts. Even Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin declared Banlaoi as a "respectable researcher" during the celebration of the 72nd Founding Anniversary of the DND.
Banlaoi was put again in the spotlight when he warned of possible retaliatory attacks after the death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
. While the Philippine government contends that Philippine security forces are ready for possible retaliatory attacks, Professor Banlaoi underscores that the death of bin Laden does not mark the end of Al-Qaeda and its influence in the Philippines. In fact, Professor Banlaoi asserts that Al-Qaeda linked JI operatives in the Philippines use marriages to deepen ties with ASG.
Rommel Banlaoi currently maintains two blog sites: Declassified Information and Free as a Bird. He occasionally writes a column entitled "Open Secret" for Lobbyist and is a contributor to Newsbreak and Philippine Star.
On a trivial side of Rommel Banlaoi, it is not widely known that he appeared in Circus album of Eraserheads, a Filipino rock band formed in the 90s by Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro. In the Circus album, he is the Professor Banlaoi in the album filler number 9 entitled Prof. Banlaoi's Transcendental Medication Every After Six Months or Punk Zappa Three. It was composed and spoken by Marcus Adoro, Professor Banlaoi's dorm mate and guitar buddy at Narra Residence Hall of UP Diliman. Many Eraserheads' fans thought that Professor Banlaoi was only a fictitious character in Circus album. He is, in fact, a real person who now lives in Quezon City.