Bureau of Immigration tightens control on
Filipinos leaving for conflict zones in Middle East, says Palace
Immigration officials have tightened measures on
Filipinos going to conflict areas in Middle East following reports that some
Muslim Filipinos are joining Islamic militants in their fight in Syria and
Iraq.
The Bureau of Immigration has stepped up its
alert level in handling Filipinos going to those locations, Deputy presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan
Saturday.
"The Bureau of Immigration is on alert when
it comes to those who are supposedly either going to Iraq, to Syria, or to
other transit points kasi ayaw din naman po nating madamay sila," Valte
told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan in an interview.
The palace will ask the DFA to validate the
reports of Filipinos aiding Islamic militants in their fight in the Middle
East, according to Valte.
While the DFA has a role, Valte said it should
be the immigration bureau who handles the issue because it handles entry and
exit of people.
It was reported that Philippine authorities are
on alert following an increase in the number of Filipinos going to Iraq and
Syria to train and fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
According to security officials, Syria has grown
to be an attractive destination for foreign fighters and has already lured
Muslim Filipinos.
Asians joining the fight in the Middle East is
an emerging trend, according to them.
Filipinos joining the conflict in Syria and Iraq
pose a serious danger to the country's national security because of the
possibility that upon returning home, they will use their experience to apply
what they learned from the ISIL terrorist group, security officials said.
The military is already facing the Abu Sayyaf
threat and Filipinos leaving to fight in the Middle East poses real internal
security problem in the future, they said. PND (as)
Failure of Bangsamoro peace pact not an option,
says Palace
Malacanang said it is putting its sight in
having a successful Bangsamoro juridical entity during the President's term and
is currently working hard to achieve it.
In a radio interview on Saturday, Deputy
presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was asked if failure is not an option
on the part of government with regards to Mindanao peace, she said the Palace
isn't entertaining skepticism and it's eyeing for success.
"If you ask us, failure should not be on
the horizon kasi hindi naman ito para sa amin. This is not for the President
personally but it’s for our brothers and sisters in the Bangsamoro," Valte
told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan in an interview.
"Itutuloy natin ang pagtulak para nito.
Kasi alam mo naman ang Pangulo, ‘pag sinabi niyang gusto niyang gawin, talagang
he will put his weight on it, as the phrase goes."
Peace panels working on the agreed version of
the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) clarified that they are making “good progress”
in their work and have already completed over 70 percent of the draft bill.
They said they are tackling the “hard issues” left.
The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front peace panels expressed disappointment over news reports that came out
this week implying near collapse of the discussion on the BBL.
The BBL was supposed to have been submitted to
Congress on May 5 but the MILF objected to the result of revisions and comments
made by the Malacañang review team.
The government said the proposed revisions were
meant to ensure that the draft bill would pass congressional scrutiny and that
it would not violate the Constitution.
The Palace listed the BBL as among the priority
measures it has sent to Congress for deliberation.
President Aquino made an assurance in his
previous public statements that he would ensure the conduct of a fair and
democratic election in the Bangsamoro in 2016. PND (as)
