Reported Sri Lankan terrorists denied allegation —AFP's Arevalo

The alleged female terrorist supposedly planning, with her fiancé, to attack the country has denied the allegation, Armed Forces of the Philippines Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo said in a statement on Sunday.

“We have obtained information that one of the alleged 'suicide bombers,' Victoria Sophia Sto. Domingo has executed an affidavit to the National Bureau of Investigation’s Counter-Terrorism Division (NBI-CTD) on July 22, 2019.”

“Victoria denied vehemently that she and her fiancé and father of her newborn child Mark Kevin Samhoon (Mark) are suicide bombers,” Arevalo added.

Strait Times earlier reported that Sto. Domingo and Samhoon are terrorists who just entered the Philippines and were preparing terror attacks.

The report added that the two have been tagged as "suicide bombers" and have relatives in the Philippines.

According to Arevalo, Sto. Domingo claimed that her father, Diosdado Manolette Mortalla Sto. Domingo was the one who tagged them as terrorists and passed off the lie to authorities.

Aside from them, her mother Anarkalie Dulara Palliyaguruge Sto. Domingo was also tagged as “terrorist financier,” which she also denied.

“This appears to be family matters where relationship has gone awry and went from bad to worst," Arevalo said.

Following this information, the AFP spokesperson said AFP Chief of Staff General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. has warned the public "against being easily swayed by unconfirmed media reports and information from individuals or groups whose reports come from unverified sources or are yet to be validated."

The AFP will continue its coordination and collaboration efforts with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police and other relevant government agencies here and abroad to strengthen the intelligence and security posture of the armed forces, Arevalo said.

“Our people should not be alarmed to see more soldiers deployed in certain areas in their locale,” he added.

The AFP encourages the public to help them by reporting their unusual observations in their area to the authorities. —Joviland Rita/LBG, GMA News