DOJ study on PHL's claim to Sabah still ongoing – Palace

The Philippines' claim to Sabah is still being studied, Malacañang said Friday.

"The study... regarding the claim for Sabah is still ongoing... we will proceed to act as soon as all facts are in and the study is finished," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said during a press conference.

She issued the statement after President Benigno Aquino III left for Kuala Lumpur for his first state visit to Malaysia as president.

Even before Aquino's departure, Malacañang had already said the country's claim to Sabah will not be among the topics during the President's trip to Malaysia.

In February last year, Justice Sec. Leila de Lima said she is studying the "validity or legal basis of the claim."

Valte, however, said the study is still ongoing and that she does not recall whether a timetable was given to the team studying it.

"The President did order a comprehensive study, at least on the legal, the historical, as well as all related avenues to the Sabah claim... we would have to wait for the results of the study," he said. 

In early 2013, a standoff between Malaysian forces and followers of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III led to violence in Sabah as the Filipinos refused to stand down amid a Malaysian ultimatum to withdraw from the area without conditions.

Kiram said he sent his followers to Sabah to reclaim their homeland as efforts to get it back from Malaysia has been relegated to the backburner by the Philippine government. — Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News