- Military denies IS training ground in Davao, Mindanao
THE EASTERN Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) on Wednesday debunked reports about the existence of a terrorist training ground in Davao City or Mindanao.
During the Davao Peace and Security press briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel, Lt. Col. Salvacion Evangelista, EastMinCom spokesperson, told reporters that military intelligence has no record of such an activity.
“While it remains part of our monitoring, we only see such things on TV. On the part of the military, there is no report on that,” Evangelista said. “We can assure you that the Eastern Mindanao Command area is free from these terrorists.”
The military released a statement following the revelation by Australian counterterrorism experts that the slain Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, recently traveled to the Philippines for training under the Islamic State.
They were tagged in deadly mass shootings in Bondi Beach, Sydney, which killed 16.
Police investigation into Sydney shooting suspects
While the military maintains there are no training camps, the Police Regional Office (PRO) XI is actively investigating the recent movements of two terror suspects.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed on Tuesday that the father-and-son duo were in the Philippines from Nov. 1 to Nov. 28, 2025.
Major Catherine Dela Rey, spokesperson for PRO XI, said that while the duo declared Davao as their final destination, authorities are still verifying their actual presence in the city.
“We are validating if they indeed arrived in Davao, where they stayed, who they met with, or if they merely passed through to another part of Mindanao,” Dela Rey said. “The intelligence division is coordinating with other agencies because this concerns the entire Philippines, not just Davao.”
Timeline of suspects’ visit
According to BI records and sources, the suspects’ itinerary was as follows:
- Nov. 1: Arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Sydney and immediately flew to Davao.
- Nov. 1–28: Alleged stay in the Philippines (Current investigation site).
- Nov. 28: Departed via a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, then back to Sydney.
Despite the suspects’ presence in the region prior to the attack, Dela Rey assured the public that there is currently no active threat in Davao.
“Right now, we don’t have any threat. We are trying our best to avoid that through the ‘Culture of Security’ where the community reports anything suspicious,” she said.
She also said the PRO XI sees no need to increase troop deployment.
“The region is very peaceful. We would like to end 2025 with this status, through the cooperation of the community and other law enforcement agencies,” Dela Rey concluded.
