Stayed for 28 Days, but No Training Found: Philippines Rejects Bondi Prep Claims as 'Misleading'

Philippine officials have pushed back strongly against claims that Bondi Beach gunmen trained in the southern Philippines, calling such allegations 'misleading' and unsupported by evidence.

Although the father and son spent 28 days in Mindanao weeks before the incident, security and investigating officials in Manila say their movements point to a quiet, uneventful stay rather than extremist preparation.

The clarification comes amid heightened international scrutiny and ongoing cooperation between the Philippine and Australian authorities.

'There is no evidence that the father and son received military training while in the Philippines,' said National Security Advisor Eduardo Año.

Authorities are investigating their behaviour from November 1 to November 28 in the Philippines and are collaborating with their Australian counterparts to determine the purpose of their visit. However, preliminary investigations suggest a calm stay rather than covert paramilitary exercises.

Año contended that a quick visit cannot 'automatically' be associated with terrorist training since there is no proof of fieldwork.

28 Days in Davao Under Scrutiny

The two suspects, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, had a history of travelling to the Philippines just weeks before the incident, according to recent reports. Based on immigration records, the two travelled to Davao City in Mindanao, an area known for its history of Islamist militancy, after arriving in Manila on November 1. At a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, fifteen people lost their lives in the incident.

However, during their 28-day stay, the men hardly ever left their GV Hotel, a cheap motel on Magallanes Street, according to local sources cited by MindaNews, which Año mentioned. A staff member claims that they arrived on November 1st, spent most of their time in their room, and only went for short walks about the neighbourhood.

Hotel Accounts Undercut Training Theory

The two did not interact with or greet other guests or use the front desk's transportation services, according to hotel staff. Officials contend that this activity is inconsistent with travelling throughout the area to join terrorist camps.

According to reports, they were only observed walking around and never making extensive travels, which could indicate connections to other training locations.

Neither the hotel's management nor the local police had responded to requests for comment, and that had it independently verified the hotel's account. However, the timeframe that is now available, according to the Filipino security chief, suggests isolation rather than networking with terrorist cells.

PH Rejects 'Terror Hub' Narrative

International coverage that depicts the southern Philippines as a default staging area for Islamist plans abroad has drawn harsh criticism from Año. Such narratives, he claimed, ignore years of military operations since the siege of Marawi in 2017, 'deprived [ISIS-linked groups] of leadership and operationally degraded' their capabilities.

A large part of Marawi was taken over by the Maute group and other Islamic State gunmen eight years ago, but they were forced out after a protracted battle. Since then, terrorist networks have been disbanded and continuously monitored, according to authorities. Año said that depicting Mindanao as a modern 'centre of violent extremism' is unfair to communities trying to move past the conflict and out-of-date reports.

Officials called for a more balanced perspective on counter-insurgency success, expressing concern that outdated reports on Mindanao's security situation would have misled foreign audiences.

Cooperation with Australia, but Red Lines on Blame

Despite rejecting the training claims, Philippine police have teamed up with Australian detectives to piece together the men's schedule and find out what, if anything, they did while in Davao. The Philippines is offering intelligence leads and travel details, but Año underlined that conclusions should be grounded in facts rather than speculation.

To prevent the Philippines from being used as a convenient scapegoat, officials say the top objective is to determine whether the visit had any ideological or logical connection to the Bondi attack. As of now, the security adviser insists there is no indication of structured training during their 28-day trip.