MANILA - Philippine Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes is to visit Malaysia tomorrow in a bid to diffuse bilateral tensions following accusations that Filipino deportees were ill-treated, sources said.

Reyes, who will be accompanied by aides of President Gloria Arroyo and military officers, is the highest ranking official to visit Malaysia since the deportees' issue blew up last month.

The Philippines has sent two protest notes to Kuala Lumpur complaining that some of the thousands of Filipino deportees had been abused and ill-treated at holding centres in Sabah.

Arroyo also complained in a letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that a migrant girl had been sexually abused, reportedly by a policeman at a detention centre.

Mahathir pledged swift action on the case and ordered a moratorium on the deportations which were part of Malaysia's crackdown against illegal immigrants who can be caned and jailed under new tough punishments.

Confidence building measures

Reyes will hold talks with his counterpart, Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak (photo) and other officials during the four-day visit, sources in Manila said.

"While his visit is to reciprocate Najib's visit here last year, it is part of confidence building measures to ensure that bilateral relations are not affected adversely by the deportation issue," a source told AFP .

Among issues expected to be discussed are concerns that suspected terrorists could be among Filipino deportees fleeing the porous maritime border with Malaysia, the sources said.

Malaysian ambassador to Manila Taufik Mohamed Noor had said this week that persistent attacks by Filipino lawmakers and politicians on the alleged ill-treatment of Filipino deportees had strained ties.

Taufik said today that Malaysia had already acted on Manila's diplomatic protest notes, including setting up a task force to investigate claims that a girl was sexually abused in a detention centre in Sabah.

"We have replied officially to one of the diplomatic notes and will respond to the other soon. In fact, we have done all we possibly can to resolve the issue," he said. AFP