Hundreds of Filipinos deported from Sabah

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – With Malaysia tightening its policies on immigrants, at least 1,113 Filipinos working and residing in Sabah were deported and are presently staying in an evacuation center in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Amir Mawalil, director of the Bureau of Public Information in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the regional government has already dispatched personnel led by the ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (ARMM HEART) to address the needs of the deported Filipinos including food and medicines.

Mawalil clarified that there are 1,113 deportees and not 100,000 as stated in earlier media reports.

However, he said that they are expecting it to swell to 200,000 if the massive deportation campaign of the Malaysian government would continue.

Last year, hundreds of Filipinos residing in Sabah evacuated to Tawi-Tawi and Sulu after tensions broke out between armed supporters of the Sultanate of Sulu and Malaysian state security forces. – Rappler.com