Jonathan Frederic De Santos

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

Article (news)

Queenie Casimiro

Zyann Ambrosio

ABS-CBN News

<p>ZAMBOANGA CITY<strong> (2nd UPDATE)</strong> — Sajid and Naveed Akram, the gunmen in the mass shooting in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, mostly stayed in their Davao City hotel when they were in the Philippines in November, military sources said.</p><p>Sources also told ABS-CBN News that the father and son were usually out of their hotel for about an hour, making it impossible for them to travel to areas for &quot;military-style training&quot; as foreign news sites have speculated.</p><p>Military commanders have also said they had not received reports that the Akrams had travelled to their areas of responsibility.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/pnp-probes-bondi-gunmen-s-activities-in-philippines-1446">PNP probes Bondi gunmen&#x27;s activities in Philippines<br/></a></div><p>&quot;Wala naman balita na dito pumunta dahil namo-monitor naman namin lalo na kung foreigner,&quot; Maj.Gen. Leo Peña, commander of the 11th Infantry Division in Sulu, said.</p><p>(There were no reports that they came here. We would be able to monitor that, especially since they are foreigners)</p><p>&quot;Ang mga tao dito, sila na mismo nagbabantay dito,&quot; he also said.</p><p>(The residents themselves keep an eye on people coming and going)</p><p>Peña said all available information indicates the Akrams had stayed in Davao City for their entire trip to the Philippines.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/6/9/basilan-now-free-from-abu-sayyaf-gov-t-says-2300">Basilan now free from Abu Sayyaf, gov&#x27;t says</a></div><p>Brig.Gen. Frederick Sales, commander of the 1101st Infantry Brigade in Basilan also said there are no indications that the two were anywhere near the island province.</p><p>Basilan has been declared free of terrorist influence with the surrender or death  of top leaders and seconds-in-command of local terrorist groups.</p><p>&quot;Wala nang tutulong sa kanila, Wala nang magte-train sa kanila (There is nobody left to help the Akrams. Nobody to train them),&quot; Sales said.</p><p>Brig. Gen. Bayani Curaming, commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade, also assured the public that Tawi-Tawi remains peaceful and free of the presence of the Abu Sayyaf Group.</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><div><br/></div><div><strong>GROUP: DAWLAH ISLAMIYAH DOWN BUT NOT OUT</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Monitoring and analysis group Council for Climate and
Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) said in a statement that although military operations have diminished the numbers of local terrorist groups,   &quot;Dawla Islamia, ISIS, or Daesh in the Philippines is down but not out.&quot;</p><p>It said that while the group has been &quot;significantly degraded&quot; since the Marawi Siege of 2017, it still exists.  </p><p>&quot;[J]ust a month ago, the government was celebrating the neutralization of two ISIS leaders, i.e., Abu Jihad and Mohammad Usman Suleiman, demonstrating that the extremist threat persists, even if the hotspot tag now seems incongruous,&quot; it said.</p><p>CCAA said the possibility that the Akrams trained in the Philippines underscores the need to be vigilant against the return of &quot;violent extremism&quot;, especially in areas like Basilan. </p><p>The group said it has &quot;observed worrying signs of mobilization and polarization, including increased youth recruitment efforts and youth defection from their families and clans&quot; as well as clashes between the military and &quot;extremist-linked groups&quot; in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after the May elections.</p><p>&quot;CCAA calls on the Philippine government, including peacebuilding and development organizations to move towards strengthening reintegration programs of former VE combatants and members and avoid the inadequate and limited focus on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) only,&quot; it also said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>IMMIGRATION: NOVEMBER TRIP WAS AKRAMS&#x27; FIRST AND ONLY VISIT TO PH</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The Bureau of Immigration has meanwhile confirmed that November was the first time that the Akrams came to the Philippines.</p><p>“Upon checking our travel records, we found that both Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram have been to the Philippines only once,&quot; said BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval.</p><p>According to ABS-CBN News sources, a composite team is still working to trace the Akrams&#x27; movements in the Philippines, including checking for CCTV footage inside or outside the hotel where they stayed, to determine where they went and what vehicles they used.</p><p>However, based on initial findings, a source said the hotel&#x27;s CCTV footage has already been deleted due to the short retention period of its recording system.</p><p>The source added that authorities are also looking into whether there is a Jewish community near the Akrams&#x27; hotel.</p><p>The BI said Tuesday that the Akrams arrived in the Philippines from Sydney, Australia on November 1.</p><p>&quot;Both reported Davao as their final destination,&quot; the BI said.</p><p>Based on BI records, the two left the country on November 28 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination.</p>

<p>Sajid and Naveed Akram, the gunmen in the mass shooting in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, mostly stayed in their Davao City hotel when they were in the Philippines in November, military sources said.</p>

Sajid and Naveed Akram, the gunmen in the mass shooting in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, mostly stayed in their Davao City hotel when they were in the Philippines in November, military sources said.

Bondi Beach shooters barely left Davao hotel room while in PH — sources

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Bondi Beach shooters barely left Davao hotel room while in PH — sources

Queenie Casimiro,

Zyann Ambrosio,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 18, 2025 12:27 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 18, 2025 06:47 PM PHT

Read More:

Bondi Beach

Sajid Akram

Naveed Akram

Basilan

Sulu

Tawi-Tawi

Davao City

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