ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - More than 1,000 illegal migrants arrived in the southern Philippines aboard a Filipino navy vessel on Thursday, a day after being deported from nearby Malaysia, officials said.

The navy ship Dagupan City sailed into Bongao in the Tawi-Tawi group southwest of here at mid-morning. It was carrying 1,451 deportees across the sea border from the Sabah port of Sandakan, said regional navy chief Commodore Ernesto de Leon.

President Gloria Arroyo flew to Bongao earlier Thursday to welcome the deportees.

The mass deportations, which followed the enforcement of a tough new Malaysian immigration law, has caused strains in bilateral relations between the two Southeast Asian neighbors.

Manila filed a diplomatic protest this week to complain about the alleged harsh treatment of Filipino illegals at holding centers in Sabah.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman told local radio on Thursday that three babies have died of diseases or exposure to the elements during the mass deportations - two in Sandakan and one on the boat trip home.

De Leon said many of those aboard the just-arrived vessel suffered from colds.

Social welfare department regional director Parisha Paradji said her office has processed 12,273 deportees since January. AFP