FOREIGN ministers of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia will meet today to intensify defense and intelligence collaboration in preventing the extremists to establish operational bases in the Southeast Asian region.
The recent attack of the IS-affiliated Maute group in Marawi prompted the three countries to start discussing plans for intense trilateral cooperation aimed at preventing extremists from establishing operational bases in the Southeast Asian region.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said top security and intelligence from Indonesia and Malaysia will also participate in the meeting.
‘‘The aim is to make a team effort, rather than each country fending off extremism by themselves,” Cayetano said.
The meeting was suggested by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The Philippines will host a meeting with her and Malaysian Foreign Minister Dato’ Sri Anifah Aman.
During the meeting, the three foreign ministers will discuss enhanced cooperation on how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can play a major role in preventing the spillover of terrorist activities from Iraq and Syria.
It’s been more than three weeks since the Maute group, who pledged allegiance to ISIS, attacked the city of Marawi, Mindanao.
On Monday, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia also held trilateral maritime operations to fight transnational crimes and terrorism in the Sulu Sea in Tarakan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia.
The Trilateral Maritime Patrol was inaugurated in the Tarakan Naval Base in a ceremony attended by Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
As security concerns threaten the robust economic growth of the region, countries are forging a collective effort against terrorism and extremism.
As the crisis in Marawi City drags on, President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to talk with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, after his defense minister said there were 1,200 ISIS fighters in the Philippines, a figure that the military disputes.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella confirmed the scheduled conversation during the Mindanao Hour in Malacañang on Wednesday.
‘‘I’m sure they’ll be talking security matters, but we don’t have the details of the plans for that conversation,” Abella said.
Meanwhile, Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and other international airports and seaports nationwide were placed on alert and ordered to be more strict in allowing the entry of foreign visitors to prevent possible entry of suspected foreign terrorists linked to the Islamic State.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente also instructed BI Port Operations chief Marc Red Mariñas to assign intelligence agents from the border control and intelligence unit at the airports to monitor and watch for suspected foreign terrorists who might attempt to enter the country.
Morente said immigration officers should thoroughly screen foreign passengers from countries where the foreign jihadists who linked up with local terrorists in Marawi City originated.
‘‘Those who have questionable documents or doubtful purposes in coming to the country should be excluded and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin,” Morente said.
He also said that it is not easy to assess and establish if an arriving foreign visitor is a suspected terrorist, especially if the latter is completely documented and is able to satisfactorily answer questions from an immigration officer.
‘‘That is why we have in our database the names of thousands of suspected international terrorists that were given to us by the different law enforcement and intelligence agencies here and abroad,” he said.
He said that a foreign passenger whose name and description matches the person appearing in their derogatory list will be immediately turned back and barred from entering the country.
Mariñas has issued a similar directive to immigration officers assigned to the southern seaports and border crossing stations in the South.
‘‘They were instructed to coordinate with the military and police authorities in their areas in conducting border screening formalities for foreigners arriving in their respective ports,” he said.
Mariñas, however, added that given the country’s long and porous shorelines, he believes most of the foreign jihadists now involved in the Marawi siege entered the country through the backdoor and did not pass inspection by immigration authorities.
Lorenzana previously announced that at least two Indonesians were among the eight foreigners killed in Marawi City as government troops continue to pursue thee pro-ISIS Maute group.
Also on Wednesday, the President said he would not declare martial law over the entire country for now.
‘‘Whether or not I expand [martial law] to cover the entire Philippines is something else. And at this time, it is not called for,” Duterte said in an interview in Cagayan de Oro City.
Former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Wednesday brushed aside reports circulating on social media that the Islamist Maute group was planning to stage a series of bomb attacks in Metro Manila.
‘‘The likelihood of an imminent threat is very, very minimal here in the City of Manila, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Estrada said.
