Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, urging the public to take shelter. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP) / NO USE AFTER DECEMBER 24, 2025 09:47:07 GMT - NO USE AFTER DECEMBER 24, 2025 09:47:07 GMT - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /  COURTESY OF TIMOTHY BRANT-COLES" - HANDOUT - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVE /

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1765957966281AFP__20251214__883739L__v2__HighRes__TopshotAustraliaCrime_cropped_processed_by_imagy.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. Australian police said two people were in custody following reports of multiple gunshots on December 14 at Sydney&#x27;s famed Bondi Beach, urging the public to take shelter. Photo by Handout/ arious sources/AFP<br/><br/></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday stressed that there is no evidence of terrorist training, recruitment or preparation for large-scale attacks by remaining local terrorist group (LTG) members, even as the two suspects in the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia were confirmed to have briefly stayed in the Philippines.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/look-bi-releases-bondi-beach-shooters-passport-details-1458">EXCLUSIVE: Passport details of Bondi Beach shooters</a></div><p>AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the father-and-son gunmen entered the country through Manila and later traveled to Davao City as tourists. They stayed in the Philippines for less than a month, specifically from November 1 to 28.</p><p>“We do not want to speculate as to their intentions, as to the activities that they have done within the Philippines,” Padilla told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.</p><p>“Our intelligence operatives are at work as of this time. Maganda po ang coordination natin with different agencies, both local and international,” she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/palace-congress-can-still-pass-2026-budget-on-time-1508">PNP probes Bondi gunmen&#x27;s activities in Philippines</a></div><p>Australian media named the shooters as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram.</p><p>The suspects, toting long-barreled guns, shot and killed 15 people at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday, December 15.</p><div> </div><div><strong>BRAWNER: NO BASIS FOR CLAIMS OF TERROR TRAINING IN PH</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>AFP chief-of-staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said that so far, intelligence reports only establish the suspects’ entry and travel within the country, but not any extremist-linked activity.</p><p>Authorities are still validating their movements and contacts during their stay, he added.</p><p>“Pinag-aaralan pa natin, iniinvestigate natin further kung ano ang mga pinuntahan nilang mga lugar at sino ang mga kinausap nila,” Brawner said in a chance interview on Tuesday evening. “Hindi lang AFP ang nag-iimbestiga rito, but other agencies as well.”</p><p>Asked whether extremist elements in the Philippines could have provided training to the suspects, Brawner pointed to the sharp decline in terrorist strength nationwide.</p><p>“Napakalaki ng accomplishments ng ating bansa when it comes to pagpuksa natin sa mga rebeldeng terorista—from a high of 2,000 noon, bumaba ito noong Marawi siege, at ngayon kokonti na lang sila. Kokonti na lang talaga,” the military chief said.</p><p>He went on, “Kaya hindi po namin makita yung sinasabi na nag-training dito ang dalawang gunmen sa Bondi Beach (shooting) sa Australia. Pinag-aaralan po natin lahat ng anggulo.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/palace-strongly-rejects-sweeping-misleading-claim-bondi-beach-gunmen-trained-with-isis-in-ph-1217">Palace ‘strongly rejects sweeping, misleading’ claim Bondi Beach gunmen trained with ISIS in PH</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN PH’S SECURITY ENVIRONMENT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Padilla emphasized that the country’s security environment, particularly in Mindanao, has significantly improved over the past decade due to sustained military operations, peace-building initiatives, and strong community engagement.</p><p>From 1,257 members in 2016, the combined strength of LTGs has dropped to just 50 in 2025.</p><p>Between 2016 and 2025, 28 high-value individuals (HVIs) were neutralized through military and security operations, including 10 amirs or top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group.</p><p>“Focused government operations have resulted in the neutralization, arrest or surrender of key terrorist leaders, creating a leadership vacuum within remaining LTGs. The loss of senior figures has weakened command structures and reduced the ability of these groups to plan, direct and sustain operations.” Padilla noted.</p><p>She the continued, “Available indicators show a steady decline in LTG manpower, firearms, territorial influence and violent incidents since 2016. Remaining groups are fragmented and largely defensive, with diminished operational reach and limited ability to regroup.”</p><div> </div><div><strong>RENEWED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND TOURISM</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The AFP also cited tangible indicators of normalization, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).</p><p>According to Padilla, Basilan has been declared free of ASG presence, while Jolo, Sulu and other areas have experienced renewed economic activity and tourism, “reflecting increased public confidence and normalized daily life.”</p><p>“So, kung talagang may active terrorist networks na sinasabi, hindi po mangyayari ang normalisasyon ng pamumuhay at pagbubukas ng turismo sa mga lugar na ito. So, ‘yan po yung actual ground reality that we are really trying to establish and point out right now into the open,” the AFP spokesperson said.</p><p>Meanwhile, Davao City, the suspects’ last known destination in the country, was described as generally peaceful.</p><p>“Meron tayong Joint Task Force Davao that is operating also in the area, aside from our major units that are there. Generally peaceful po ang Davao—open to tourism and napakaganda din, even Samal Island. It’s a must-see for tourists,” Padilla further said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/regions/2024/3/28/marcos-jr-says-to-fulfill-promise-of-peace-in-bangsamoro-1034">Marcos Jr says to fulfill promise of peace in Bangsamoro</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>AFP: ONE OF THE SUSPECTS IS A GUN CLUB MEMBER</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad explained that training for complex attacks cannot be acquired in a short period.</p><p>He also pointed out that one of the Bondi Beach shooters was already a licensed gun owner and gun club member abroad.</p><p>“Let me just point out that training cannot be acquired in just 30 days if you would like, especially if you are to undergo marksmanship. And basically, based from open source, one of the two suspects—the old one—is actually a gun club member,” Trinidad said.</p><p>“So, if you are a gun club member, I don’t think you need training because you know how to use a gun, and, of course, meron pa siyang licensed firearm, legally owned in the particular country. I don’t think you need training if you have that qualification,” he added. “I don’t see any purpose of them going here in the country to do training.”</p><div> </div><div><strong>CAUTION AGAINST SPECULATION</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In a report by public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), an Australian senior counterterrorism officer said that the suspects “underwent military-style training in the southern Philippines last month.”</p><p>“The Philippines has been a hotspot for Islamist militants since the early 1990s, when terrorist training camps previously on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border were re-established in southern Mindanao,” the ABC report added.</p><p>Responding to such claims, Padilla said that such assertions are not supported by empirical data from the ground.</p><p>“We work on data, empirical data based on the statistics that we have from the field units given to us here in the AFP,” the official stressed.</p><p>Padilla emphasized that false assumptions or misinformation could affect local economy and tourism, noting the importance of accurately reflecting the country’s security gains.</p><p>“Security is always a condition for most of what happens to the country. Pagka-peaceful po ang bansa, then the economy will also thrive,” Padilla said.</p><p>“May pumapasok po araw-araw dito sa ating bansa bilang turista. Iba po yung pagpasok ng bansa sa actual po na activities na name-mention dito. So, case in point, ito wala naman pong ebidensya na may actual activities that are happening,” she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSAeggfm9qE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>AFP chief-of-staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said that so far, intelligence reports only establish the suspects’ entry and travel within the country, but not any extremist-linked activity.</p>

AFP chief-of-staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said that so far, intelligence reports only establish the suspects’ entry and travel within the country, but not any extremist-linked activity.

AFP cites terrorism decline as Bondi Beach gunmen’s PH stay raises questions

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AFP cites terrorism decline as Bondi Beach gunmen’s PH stay raises questions

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 17, 2025 03:56 PM PHT

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Bondi shooting

Australia

Philippines

Defense

Armed Forces of the Philippines

AFP

Terrorist training

Davao

Mindanao

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