MANILA - The Philippines will seek Malaysia's permission to question 22 Filipinos caught trying to sneak into Sabah with a cache of arms to look into possible links with terror groups, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday.

Ople said the request would be made under a regional counter-terrorism agreement which includes the two countries as well as Indonesia.

The accord, which calls for improved intelligence sharing o­n possible terror threats, was sealed after the deadly bomb blasts in Bali, Indonesia last year.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs will request that this mechanism now be used to allow our intelligence authorities to gather information about the background and activities of the 22 Filipinos," Ople said.

He also stressed that Manila "shall not countenance arms smuggling by any nationals, including our own."

Possible link

Philippine officials are seeking to determine if the 22 might be linked to local Muslim separatist groups or the Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror network alleged to have links with the al-Qaeda terror network.

The 22 Filipinos, including o­ne woman, were caught by Malaysian authorities o­n April 30 when they crossed the maritime border from the Philippines to Sabah, in a boat carrying arms and explosives.

Malaysian security officials have previously said the group may have been fleeing a military offensive against Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines, but they are also checking if they might have been planning to use the arms for a terror attack.

Ople said that a consular team was also being dispatched to see that the rights of the 22 Filipinos are upheld. - AFP