100 Filipinos come home from Sabah

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – Philippine Navy patrol ship BRP Sultan Kudarat intercepted about 100 Filipino “evacuees” coming home from Sabah, radio DZMM reported Friday morning, March 8.

Two boats are carrying the Filipino passengers. They are now escorted by the navy patrol ship until they arrive to their destination – Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Philippine Navy spokesperson Gregory Fabic said initial reports show that the “Filipino evacuees” came from Sandakan, Malaysia. He said they will get more information when they arrive in Tawi-Tawi Friday night.

“We are going to determine all of them, their identities, once they reach Bongao,” Fabic told ANC Fridya afternoon. He said they cannot tell for now if followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III are among the evacuees.

Earlier on Friday, 55 evacuees from Sabah also arrived in nearby Siasi, Sulu. Of the 55, a total of 23 are males, 13 are females and 19 are children.

The Filipinos will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. (READ: The forotten problem of Sabah’s halaw)

The boats are also packed with basic commodities. The Filipinos carried with them about 3,000 sacks of rice.

The Kirams declared a ceasefire on Thursday, but the Malaysian government rejected it. The Kirams have called on the United Nations to send its peacekeepers.

Malaysian government claimed a total of 60 people – 52 followers of Kiram and 8 Malaysian police – were killed in the firefights between Malaysian security forces and the followers of Kiram.

The Kirams questioned the accuracy of the Malaysian data, however. The Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez admitted there is no way to verify the numbers because they are only relying on reports from Malaysian government.

Hernandez also raised continuing appeal to the Malaysian government to give the Philippine government access to Sabah to provide humanitarian assistance to Filipinos there. – Carmela Fonbuena/Rappler.com