Almost half of Filipinos returnees from Sabah are children

A one-day old baby is among 108 children who returned to Tawi-Tawi from Sabah on Tuesday night, March 19. The baby identified only as “Baby girl Asadah” was born to a 35-year old woman on the island of Taganak near Sandakan, Malaysia, where the processing center for Sabah refugees is setup. Children comprise almost half of this batch of 233 Filipino returnees from Sabah. Based on Rappler estimates, about 3,000 returnees have been processed by the DSWD since the standoff in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III (who are staking the claim of the Sultanate of Sulu over the disputed territory) began. The department acknowledged that not all returnees may have been processed. As of Tuesday night, another group of returnees from Sabah are in Taganak, according to the DSWD.


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