PH proposes bilateral platform for undocumented Filipinos in Sabah

Manila has proposed a bilateral platform with Kuala Lumpur that would enable undocumented Filipinos in Sabah to receive social services from the Philippine government.

“Though many Filipinos have been given residency status in Sabah, many remain undocumented. It is the desire of our government to register all of these undocumented Filipinos for them to access social services offered by the Philippine government,” said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to his Malaysian counterpart Director General Rajo Dato’ Nushirwan Bin Zainal Abidin during a dialogue in Makati City on Tuesday.

The proposal was welcomed by the Malaysian national security official, the Philippines National Security Council said. Rajo Dato’ Nushirwan added that the Malaysian government will continue to facilitate consular visits of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak.

Located south of Mindanao, Sabah has long been the subject of the territorial dispute between the Philippines and Malaysia.

Malaysia has maintained that Sabah has been recognized by the United Nations and the international community as part of the country since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

There are more than 700,000 Filipinos in Sabah, with over 500,000 of them undocumented, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The bilateral meeting between Año and Rajo Dato’ Nushirwan Bin Zainal Abidin focused on deepening security cooperation between the Philippines and Malaysia.

Año also agreed with the proposal of Rajo Dato’ Nushirwan to establish a dialogue mechanism for national security advisors from other Southeast Asian countries.

“This initiative aims to foster comprehensive regional discussions on security, paving the way for more coordinated action among member nations,” said Año.

The two countries also revisited their trilateral agreement with Indonesia on fighting piracy, human trafficking, and other transnational crimes.

“We must continue to work together to sustain the gains brought about by the Trilateral Cooperative Agreement and work on improving other areas of cooperation in the tri-border area, like the establishment of joint rules of engagement,” said Año. —VBL, GMA Integrated News