No evidence of 'terrorist training' after Bondi gunmen's visit: Philippines
"No evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training," presidential spokesperson Claire Castro says.
The Philippines has said there was no evidence that the country was being used for terrorist training, a day after it was revealed the men suspected to be behind Australia's Bondi Beach mass shooting had spent November on a southern island known for militant activities.
"(President Ferdinand Marcos) strongly rejects the sweeping statement and the misleading characterisation of the Philippines as the ISIS training hotspot," presidential spokesperson Claire Castro said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"No evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training," she added, reading from a National Security Council statement.
"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 country's immigration office confirmed that Sajid Akram and his son Naveed, who are accused of killing 15 people and wounding dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach, entered the country on November 1 and headed for the southern province of Davao.
‘No leadership’
The island of Mindanao, where Davao is located, has a long history of militant activities against central government rule.
Australian authorities are investigating whether the two men met with militants during the trip.
The Philippine military, however, said on Wednesday that armed groups still operating on Mindanao had been largely degraded in the years since the siege of Marawi.
"We have not recorded any major terrorist operations or training activities… since the beginning of 2024," Philippine military spokesperson Colonel Francel Padilla said at a morning press briefing.
"They are fragmented, and they have no leadership," she added of the militant groups.
Colonel Xerxes Trinidad told reporters the father-and-son duo's November trip to the Philippines would not have provided adequate time for significant training.
"Training cannot be acquired in just 30 days ... especially if you are to undergo marksmanship (training)," he said.