The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday cited military records indicating that the country’s national security situation makes it unlikely that the two Indian nationals linked to the Bondi Beach mass shooting in Sydney, Australia received extremist training in the Philippines.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said initial information indicated the two suspects identified as Sajid Akram, 50, an Indian national, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24, an Indian-Australian national, arrived in Manila together on November 1 and later went to Davao City.
Authorities are now validating their movements, including the places they visited and the people they encountered. “That is all the information we have for now, and we are studying it further. We are investigating the places they visited and the people they may have met,” Brawner said.
But the military chief addressed speculation circulating abroad that extremist groups in the Philippines could have provided training to the suspects.
Brawner said this does not align with the country’s current domestic security situation, particularly in Mindanao where terrorist groups have been significantly weakened.
Records from the AFP showed that from a high of 1,257 local terrorists in 2016, the manpower of local terrorist groups dropped to around 50 in 2025.
While not completely eliminated, Brawner noted that the sharp decline followed years of sustained military operations, peace initiatives, and community-based programs that are enough to prevent radicalization.
Between 2016 and 2025, government forces also neutralized 28 high-value individuals through armed encounters, arrests, and surrenders, the data noted.
The AFP said the neutralization of the terrorist leaders created a leadership vacuum while the remaining groups were fragmented, largely defensive, and no longer capable of planning or sustaining large-scale attacks.
The Philippine military also noted there have been no recorded terrorist training activities, recruitment efforts, or major attacks by domestic terror groups since 2016.
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) programs, the AFP said, have also encouraged surrenders and reintegration while cooperation with local leaders has reduced the appeal of extremist recruitment.
As such, security conditions in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have likewise improved. Basilan has been declared free of Abu Sayyaf presence while parts of Sulu and other former conflict areas have seen a return of economic activity and tourism.
Given the developments in the security atmosphere in Mindanao, the AFP said terrorism threat levels in several areas of Western and Central Mindanao have shifted from high to low.
“That is why we do not see any basis for the claim that the two Bondi Beach gunmen trained here in the Philippines although the matter is still under study,” Brawner said.
