President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Philippines and Malaysia had an agreement on what to do on illegal Pinoys in Sabah, Malaysia.
The Philippines and Malaysia came to an agreement to deport 7,000 illegal Filipino immigrants detained in Sabah, Malaysia, and they will not avail clemency.
President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed this information at a press conference during his arrival at the Davao International Airport on Friday morning after his two-day visit to Thailand and Malaysia.
According to Duterte, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak agreed to grant the Philippines to work on the documents of the immigrants so that they will return to the Philippines. Most of these detainees were Tausug.
The chief executive said the Philippine government will also provide a school and healthcare for the Filipinos in Sabah.
“Ang problema doon ang mga Filipino walang edukasyon (The problem is that Filipinos there lack education),” he said.
He added that he also considers on asking agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO) to assist the government in providing healthcare to the immigrants.
“Nakakahiya naman kung sa kanila (Malaysians) na lahat (It would be embarrassing to let them shoulder everything),” Duterte said.
Dutete noted that his meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister focused mainly on the need to strengthen the Philippine-Malaysia partnership for a safe and secure and stable region.
“As ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) brothers and maritime nations, we recognized that cooperation between our countries by the other stakeholders is key to ensure that our sea lanes are not used for illegal purposes or criminal activities,” he said.
He even recalled that the signing of the Framework for Trilateral Arrangement between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines on Immediate Measures to Address Security Issues in the Maritime Areas of Common Interests showed the commitment of the two countries to explore all available options to ensure greater collaboration in the joint coordinated pursuit, the interdiction, and the arrest of criminal and terrorist plying the waterways between the two countries.
“We also committed to sustain the efforts to achieve just and lasting peace in Mindanao,” he added.
“The Philippines is ready to work with Malaysia and our partners interested in securing for generations of the Mindanaoans and Filipinos, a future free from fear and conflict,” Duterte said.
