CLARK, Pampanga: Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday that the Philippines has received a “long list” of names of returning fighters, including “a couple of Filipinos” from Iraq and Syria. He added that the Philippines, as well as other concerned countries, has been warned by Australia and the US whose troops have been fighting terrorists in the Middle East. “This has become a collective effort by the regional defense establishments,” Lorenzana said. For her part, Payne stressed that members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should also consider the return of these fighters not just as a defense issue but also an immigration issue. “We think about people who have been part of the daesh campaigns in Iraq and Syria.

Source: Manila Times October 24, 2017 06:45 UTC