More than 500 Filipinos who have fled Sabah arrived in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, this morning on board a navy vessel that ferried them from Taganak in the Turtle Islands.

However, only six of the evacuees on the BRP Sultan Kudarat are from Tawi-Tawi. The rest are from Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga and at least one was from Quezon City.

The group includes more than 150 children and infants and more than 130 women, and is the largest single batch of evacuees to have arrived in Tawi-Tawi.

They are being processed by the inter-agency Task Force Tabang Basulta, which will make arrangements for them to be ferried to their home towns.

NONE The evacuees, who acknowledged that most of them are undocumented, said they fled Sabah to avoid being rounded up by Malaysian authorities after fighting broke out between followers of the sultanate of Sulu and security forces early this month.

They had come from different parts of Sabah and had converged on Sandakan, many after walking for several days.

They crowded into a single motor launch “packed so tight we were forced to stand pressed together like passengers in the LRT,” according to an evacuee, referring to Manila’s Light Rail Transit trains.

Because of the precarious situation, they decided to disembark at Taganak Island and wait for the navy.

NONE Although none of the evacuees said they were abused by Malaysian authorities, many confirmed witnessing men being beaten up as they were being arrested.

Others claimed to have seen Filipinos with Malaysian-issued identification cards accosted by police who cut up the documents, thus turning them into undocumented aliens.

Such incidents, they said, firmed up their decision to flee Sabah before they got caught up in the crackdown.

Other evacuees said they fled after hearing that Filipino oil palm plantation workers in Lahad Datu, where the sultanate’s followers have been holding out, have been unable to leave.

‘State of calamity’

Turtle Islands Mayor Mibaral Tang said he plans to declare his municipality in a state of calamity and ask Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman to send emergency supplies to help the local government deal with the continued flow of evacuees from Sabah.

The evacuees from Sandakan are so far the largest group they have had to deal with, Tang said.

However, he added, small groups of Filipinos fleeing Sabah, many of them without food or money, pass by his municipality on their way to Tawi-Tawi, Basilan or Sulu.

- InterAksyon

Related stories

Security forces set to 'dominate' three areas

'Complete intelligence failure in Lahad Datu'

Cops believe Azzimudie is within operations area

Deadly Kg Simunul ambush linked to Lahad Datu intrusion

Philippine navy intercepts 35 more armed Sulus

Sabah NGOs seek UN probe into intrusion impact

Two soldiers killed in Sabah promoted to full Corporal

Sabah - the question that won't go away

Respect rights of Lahad Datu detainees, gov't urged

MILF, Manila to resume talks in M'sia next week

DIGP, don't waste time chasing imaginary ghosts