Gov’t still validating reported presence 89 suspected foreign terrorists: Abella

June 24, 2017

Government authorities are still validating the reported presence of 89 suspected foreign terrorist in Mindanao, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Saturday “Authorities are still validating the report that 89 suspected foreign fighters are in Mindanao,” he said. Abella issued his statement, after an undated intelligence report of the Philippine National Police said there are at least 89 “suspected foreign terrorist fighters” that includes 28 Indonesians, 26 Pakistanis, 21 Malaysians, four Arabs, three Bangladeshis, one "Indian-Singaporean", and one Singaporean in different parts of Mindanao. He said these foreign terrorists might have entered the country through the “backdoor” in southern Philippines. “They might have entered the Philippines via the backdoor where the point of entry is Mindanao via Indonesia or Malaysia,” said Abella. “This is the purpose why we are making a collective effort against terrorism and violent extremism through a trilateral cooperation with Indonesia and Malaysia,” he noted. “We have agreed to work together to jointly develop and implement counter-terrorism measures and strategies to prevent future terrorist attacks in the region,” Abella added. Brigadier General Restituto Padilla Jr, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said last May 26 they received information that out of 31 gunmen killed “ 12 were already named and it is possible that half of these are foreigners.” Last June 19, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana with Defense Ministers Ryamizard Ryacudu of Indonesia and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein of Malaysian have launched a trilateral maritime patrol on common borders of the three countries. According to the Department of National Defense the trilateral maritime patrol was launched to ensure the safety, security and to counter the movement of violent extremist and terrorists across the borders of the three ASEAN states. Robina Asido/DMS