AUTHORITIES will standardize teaching in public and private Islamic schools in the Philippines in the wake of a militant siege last year that raised fears of greater radicalization in the country.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines will implement an “institutionalized madrassa system” with standard curriculum and greater oversight from the Department of Education.
Some such schools were found to be run by people with extremist beliefs, making them funnels for the discreet funding of radical activities, said Lorenzana.
Lorenzana was in Singapore on Sunday addressing a security conference attended by United States Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and defense officials and academics from 43 countries.
Results of patrols targeting Islamic militants in the Sulu Sea were encouraging, he added.
Since last June, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia have been patrolling an area bounded by Sabah and the southern Philippines, where militants intended to establish a caliphate.
A five-month siege of the city of Marawi last year left more than 1,100 people dead and 200,000 displaced. (AP)
