December 17, 2025 | 05:39 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Philippines dismissed on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, the allegations that the country was being used for terrorist training. This denial came a day after it was revealed that the two perpetrators of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, had spent November on a southern island known as a center for extremist insurgency.
"(President Ferdinand Marcos) strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as the ISIS training hotspot," said presidential spokesperson Claire Castro in a press conference, as reported by CNA.
"No evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training," she read from a statement by the National Security Council.
"There is no validated report or confirmation that individuals involved in the Bondi Beach incident received any form of training in the Philippines."
On Tuesday, the immigration office of the country confirmed that Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, who killed 15 people and injured dozens in the Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, Sydney, entered the country on November 1, heading to the southern province of Davao.
Sajid is an immigrant from India who came to Australia in 1998 on a student visa. Meanwhile, his son Naveed is an Australian citizen.
Insurgency in Mindanao
The island of Mindanao, where Davao is located, has a long history of extremist insurgency against the central government.
Australian authorities are investigating whether the two men met with extremist groups during their journey.
However, the Philippine military said on Wednesday that the armed Muslim groups still operating in Mindanao have largely weakened in the past few years since the siege of Marawi.
The five-month battle in the city, which pitted government forces against pro-ISIS Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, claimed more than 1,000 lives and caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee.
"We have not recorded any major terrorist operations or training activities ... since the beginning of 2024," said Philippine military spokesperson Colonel Francel Padilla in a press conference on Wednesday morning.
"They are fragmented, and they have no leadership," Padilla said of the rebel groups.
Colonel Xerxes Trinidad told reporters that the father and son's trip to the Philippines in November would not have provided enough time for significant training.
"Training cannot be acquired in just 30 days, especially if you are to undergo marksmanship (training)," he said.
However, Rommel Banlaoi, a Manila-based security analyst, said that although many rebel groups are "on the run", they are still far from being eradicated.
"There are still many active training camps in (central) Mindanao. Those did not disappear," he added, noting that even weakened insurgent movements still maintain connections "locally and globally online."
Read: Indonesia Condemns Mass Shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach
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