More refugees arriving in Tawi-Tawi

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A Navy ship with 30 Filipino evacuees from Sabah was expected to arrive in Tawi-Tawi late yesterday afternoon, an official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said.

Sharifa Pearlsia Dans, assistant secretary of the ARMM interior department, said the Navy transport vessel sailed from Tanagak island at 7 a.m. yesterday and was due to arrive at 5 p.m in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

“The 30 evacuees are part of 272 Filipinos who left Sandakan, Sabah and are now in Taganak island,” Dans said, adding that the group reportedly left their jobs in Sabah following rumors that Malaysian authorities would launch a crackdown against Filipinos on March 25.

Taganak is 18 nautical miles from Sandakan, where hundreds of documented and undocumented Filipinos are staying.

Since the 30 evacuees have yet to be processed, they are not included in the list of 2,631 evacuees that have returned from Sabah since the conflict started last February.

The ARMM’s Crisis Management Center based at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City had processed the 2,631 returnees who have now returned to Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman said the department has now processed 2,818 evacuees from Sabah.

She said the evacuees were given food and transportation money to return to their provinces.

Other evacuees came from Zamboanga City, Davao, Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, Zamboanga Sibugay, Pagadian City, Dapitan, Butuan, Sirawai, Zamboanga del Sur, Bulacan, and Caloocan City.

Dans said the ARRM’s interior department, social welfare department and the Office of Civil Defense are preparing for the return of more evacuees from Sabah.

Sources said that the government is still verifying reports that Agbimuddin Kiram, the leader of the armed supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III that clashed with Malaysian security forces in Sabah, has returned to Tawi-Tawi.

“We are still verifying if this report is true,” one of the sources said, adding that the supposed return of Agbimuddin is also being looked into by other security agencies such as the Philippine National Police (PNP).

But the Sulu sultanate as well as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) belied reports of Malaysian state-run media Bernama that Agbimuddin had abandoned his men in Lahad Datu, Sabah and is back in Tawi-Tawi.

Sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani said Agbimuddin has not abandoned his followers but is just evading Malaysian security forces.

MNLF political bureau chief Haji Gapul Hajirul said Agbimuddin is still in Sabah, citing reports from their people there.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago commended last Friday President Aquino’s handling of the crisis in Sabah despite criticisms from some sectors of the society.

“It’s very sober. That is always an asset to a President under stress. We have never abandoned or relinquished our claim,” Santiago said after speaking before the Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines at the Manila Hotel.

Santiago said Aquino’s sobriety indicated that he is weighing all options available under the present situation.

“He is very sober. He is very prudent. Because you know, you cannot just run to war on an emotional burst of energy. You have to consider all aspects, particularly world public opinion,” she added.

She said it is much better to be judged as being reasonable under the circumstances, because then the United Nations security council and the general assembly would more readily “accept your facts when you present them.”

Santiago also commended the President’s caution because it is so easy to play hero to a momentary crowd than to play statesman to an impatient crowd.

“Sometimes the president must be a gung-ho leader, sometimes he must be a very prudent and circumspect leader. Probably there are factors that we are not acquainted with that the President is not at liberty to reveal to us with respect to Malaysia,” said Santiago, who is awaiting her deployment to the International Criminal Court.

In the same forum, Santiago called on Malaysia and the Philippines to tap a third party representative to conduct the probe on the eruption of violence in Sabah.

This way, the two countries could start a dialogue on how to address the situation with no further loss of human lives.

Santiago also batted for the need to allow local and foreign journalists to chronicle the events in Lahad Datu and nearby areas.

“War protection is given to journalists in actual combat. This is part of human rights of journalists. If you prevent them, that is a violation of international law. We are in the right side of international law there,” Santiago explained. With Christina Mendez, Rainier Allan Ronda