PNP monitoring foreigners in Mindanao but too early to say if they are terrorists: Dela Rosa 

June 24, 2017

Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa said they are monitoring several foreigners who have entered Mindanao but he stressed it is still too early to tell if they are terrorists. "We are closely monitoring these foreigners who are currently in Mindanao," Dela Rosa said in a brief phone interview Saturday. A news story quoted a police intelligence report at least 89 suspected foreign terrorist fighters are in different areas in Mindanao, including Marawi City. The report said majority of the foreign terrorists are Pakistanis and Malaysians. “I don’t know what is the basis of that report. We are watching them but it doesn’t mean that if they are foreigners, they are terrorists. This is will be bad for our tourism,” he said. “Even if they are Muslims from the Middle East, Indonesia or Malaysia, we cannot say they are terrorists until further validation,” added Dela Rosa. Dela Rosa did not say how many foreigners who are being monitored by their intelligence operatives. . Last January, Dela Rosa said up to 10 foreigners are training with local terrorist groups in Mindanao before joining the Islamist State of Iraq and Syria. DMS