LP bets ‘billeted’ in Sandakan set to be released

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President Aquino directed Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario to facilitate their immediate release

MANILA, Philippines –  The candidates and supporters of the Liberal Party (LP), who are presently being held in Sandakan, Sabah, may be able to go back home to the Philippines on Wednesday, April 10.  

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez said Malaysian authorities are currently processing the release of the 33 Filipinos who were brought by Malaysian police to Sandakan after their boat was engulfed by strong waves on their way to a campaign sortie in an island in Tawi-Tawi near the Malaysian border.  

“The administrative procedure and the papers are now being handled for their actual release,” Hernandez told reporters.

Hernandez said the Filipinos were on their way to Turtle Islands. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Acting Gov Mujiv Hataman, however, said they were on their way to Mapun Island. Both islands are within Tawi-Tawi. 

Upon hearing the news, President Benigno Aquino III himself called up Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and directed him to facilitate the immediate release of the Filipinos, Hernandez said. 

Del Rosario contacted the Foreign Minister of Malaysia who, in turn, gave his commitment to release the Filipinos. An order for the release was given late Tuesday night. 

The Filipinos are still in Sandakan but Hernandez said they don’t know where they are “billeted.” 

Asked to clarify, Hernandez said he used the word “billeted” because he had no information whether they were in fact detained. – with reports from Angela Casauay/Rappler.com

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