Sajid Akram, who with his son Naveed killed 15 persons in an attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, was seen jogging with Naveed each morning and visited a gun shop during their nearly monthlong stay in Davao City.
Police Maj. Catherine dela Rey, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11, told CoverStory on Sunday that Sajid Akram, 50, visited a gun shop that she did not name.
But National Security Adviser Eduardo Año told CoverStory that the Akrams “just stayed in the hotel and did not visit any shooting range in Davao.”
Security officials earlier said the Akrams stayed at the GV Hotel in Davao City for almost a month after arriving in the Philippines from Sydney on Nov. 1. The hotel is near the City Hall, a police station, and the Israeli Honorary Consulate.
The Akrams left Manila on a connecting flight from Davao City on Nov. 28, according to Dana Sandoval, Bureau of Immigration spokesperson.
It was their first time in the Philippines when they arrived in Manila on Nov. 1, Sandoval told CoverStory. ”They had no derogatory record or Interpol hit upon arrival. They claimed their trip was for tourism purposes,” she said.
‘No way’
Speaking to reporters Friday on the sidelines of the celebration of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) 90th anniversary, Año said it was impossible for Sajid and Naveed Akram to have undergone “military-style training” while in the Philippines, as Australian media had earlier reported.
“All 28 days they stayed in Davao, they slept in the same hotel every night. There is no way they had undergone any training in Maguindanao, Mindanao, or elsewhere. Nobody came to the hotel to visit them,” said Año, a former AFP chief.
“Every morning, they went out jogging. They would leave and come back after two or three hours. The longest was eight hours. Still, that time window was not enough for them to leave Davao. They really just stayed there,” he added.
According to Año, the two men may have been using the internet or communicating with someone, “but as for other physical activities, there were none.”
He noted that there are seven shooting ranges in Davao. “Our operatives also talked to [people in] all of them. The two never appeared there,” he said.
Año added: “Probably, the father-and-son pair were bonding. Perhaps the son was recruiting the father because Naveed was recruited first.
“But one thing is certain: They did not undergo any training here. They did not meet any local terrorist group members based in Muslim Mindanao.”
Naveed Akram, 24, has longstanding connections with the pro-Islamic State network in Australia, according to Australian media.
GV Hotel staff who spoke to reporters in Davao also said the two men mostly stayed in their room during their stay.
“They had big luggage and a backpack,” hotel staffer Jenelyn Sayson told MindaNews.
Hotel staff found discards from a fast food chain in the room where the Akrams stayed, indicating that they ordered food to go when they went out. They were also never seen being fetched by anyone at the hotel and going on a ride, the staff said.
‘Backtracking operations’
In a video statement on Sunday, Brig. Gen. Leon Victor Rosete, director of PRO 11, said police had conducted “backtracking operations to establish [the Akrams’] movements during their stay,” including the review of CCTV footage, hotel records, travel data, and other intelligence information.
“Based on the investigation conducted, PRO 11 confirmed that the two individuals arrived in Davao City and stayed in GV Hotel for almost a month before leaving the area,” Rosete said.
He said PRO 11 had examined the possible activities the Akrams may have conducted during their stay, including the individuals they interacted with. He did not elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
In a speech on Friday during the AFP anniversary, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected “in the strongest terms the recent misleading claims that portray our country as a training hotspot for terrorism.”
“For years, we have acted decisively to dismantle terrorist networks, to secure communities, and to sustain our hard-earned peace. To dismiss these gains with unfounded speculation is not acceptable,” Mr. Marcos said.
Nevertheless, he said, the Philippines remains vigilant: “We will not let deceptive narratives distract us nor weaken our resolve.”
Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured in the Akrams’ attack on a Jewish Hanukkah festival in Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14.
Sajid Akram was killed by police at the scene. Naveed Akram was critically injured and taken to hospital. He has been charged with 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, and one count of committing a terrorist act.
Read more: Año says no evidence of Bondi shooters’ terror training in Mindanao
