Communists Are Biggest Threat to the Philippines: Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on the sidelines of the 31st ASEAN Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila on Nov. 13, 2017. Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that communist rebels are among his nation’s top national security threats.

At a public briefing at Malacanang Palace in Manila, Duterte identified terrorism as “the number one threat to the country,” but dismissed the ISIS-linked group Abu Sayyaf as being among the prime threats and instead singled out “communists.”