Jamaine Punzalan

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.  Handout/various sources/AFP

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

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/17659448629361765944861596.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"></span></span></span></div><p>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.  Handout/various sources/AFP</p><div><br/></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATED)</strong> — The Philippines “strongly rejects” the “sweeping and misleading” insinuations that the 2 gunmen who went on a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/15/gunmen-kill-11-at-jewish-festival-on-australia-s-bondi-beach-0107">killing spree in Bondi Beach</a> earlier this week had traveled to the Philippines to train with groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Malacañang said on Wednesday.</p><p>In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said government efforts against &quot;local terrorist groups&quot; have diminished their numbers and degraded their ability to operate and to train fighters.</p><p>The Palace gave the statement a day after Australian Police announced that two home-made ISIS flags were found in the vehicle of the father-and-son shooters, with authorities quick to clarify that the nature of the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/16/pnp-validating-reports-bondi-beach-shooters-stayed-in-ph-prior-to-attack-0932">assailants’ trip to the Philippines</a> “remains under investigation.”</p><p>“The President strongly rejects the sweeping statements and the misleading characterization of the Philippines as the ISIS training hotspot,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters when asked to comment on international news reports that the Bondi Beach suspects could have trained with terrorists in Mindanao.</p><p>“Maging mapanuri at responsable din po sa pagpapahayag lalo ito ay nakakaapekto sa integridad at imahe ng Pilipinas,” she said.</p><p>(Let us be discerning and responsible in our statements, espcecially since they affect the integrity and image of the Philippines)</p><p>Castro read a statement from the National Security Council (NSC) which scorned reports that described the Philippines as a terrorism hotspot as misleading.</p><p>“Currently, there are no validated reports or information that the individuals involved in the Bondi Beach incident received any form of training in the Philippines,” the NSC said. </p><p>“Philippine authorities, in coordination with international partners, continue to verify all available information but no evidence has been presented to support claims that the country was used for terrorist training,” it added.</p><p>The Palace and the NSC underscored that since the Marawi Siege in 2017, “Philippine security forces have significantly degraded ISIS-affiliated groups in the country.”</p><p>“Both the United Nations and United States assessments indicate that these groups operate in a fragmented and diminished capacity,” Castro said.</p><p>“Violence in Mindanao is driven largely by historical conflicts and local clan disputes rather than operation capacities of ISIS-affiliated organizations,” she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>AFP: LOCAL TERRORISTS DOWN TO 50</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The AFP said that security operations and development efforts have led to a decline in &quot;local terrorist group&quot; numbers have shrunk to 50 in 2025 from 1,257 in 2016.</p><p>&quot;There have been no recorded terrorist training activities, recruitment efforts, or large-scale attacks by domestic LTGs since 2016. This underscores the erosion of their operational capacity and the effectiveness of sustained security monitoring,&quot; the military also said.</p><p>It said that this is due to the &quot;neutralization&quot; of 28 high-value individuals, including 10 leaders of groups like the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Dawlah Islamiya as well as local development efforts to prevent recruitment.</p><p>&quot;The security environment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has markedly improved,&quot; the AFP said.</p><p>&quot;Basilan is now free of Abu Sayyaf Group presence, while Jolo, Sulu, and other areas are experiencing renewed economic activity and tourism, reflecting increased public confidence and normalized daily life.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/12/16/timeline-how-the-bondi-beach-mass-shooting-unfolded-1658">Timeline: How the Bondi Beach mass shooting unfolded</a></div><p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Anti-Terrorism Council and other agencies “to remain vigilant in preventing any terrorist activity within Philippine territory and to continuously enhance coordination with international partners to safeguard national security,” Castro said.</p><p>The Bondi Beach shooting — which killed at least 15 people — was described as a terrorist attack as the incident happened on the first day of Hanukkah, during a gathering of a Jewish community in the popular seaside destination in Sydney.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/16/10-year-old-girl-holocaust-survivors-among-bondi-beach-dead-1349">10-year-old girl, Holocaust survivors among Bondi Beach dead</a></div><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div><div><iframe width="1309" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eRvwcQ9Arfk" title="Australian police probe PH visit of gunmen behind Bondi Beach shooting | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="1309" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NaQ0kxVTX50" title="Eyewitness video shows celebrations moments before people flee Bondi shooting | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>The Philippines “strongly rejects” the “sweeping and misleading” insinuations that the 2 gunmen who went on a killing spree in Bondi Beach earlier this week had traveled to the Philippines to train with groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Malacañang said. </p>

The Philippines “strongly rejects” the “sweeping and misleading” insinuations that the 2 gunmen who went on a killing spree in Bondi Beach earlier this week had traveled to the Philippines to train with groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Malacañang said.

Palace ‘strongly rejects sweeping, misleading’ claim Bondi Beach gunmen trained with ISIS in PH

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Palace ‘strongly rejects sweeping, misleading’ claim Bondi Beach gunmen trained with ISIS in PH

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 17, 2025 12:17 PM PHT

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Updated December 17, 2025 01:09 PM PHT

Read More:

Bondi Beach shooting

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

ISIS

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