DAVAO CITY – A peace monitor has warned against linking the two Bondi Beach shooters to Islamic extremist groups in Mindanao.

But the Climate Conflict Action (CCA) said extremists remain a threat amid the government campaign to eradicate them in Mindanao.

The group formerly known as International Alert Philippines said it is still premature to link Sajid Akram and son Naveed to local Islamic extremist groups in Mindanao as investigations are still being conducted.

The father-and-son duo stayed in a budget hotel here from Nov. 1 to 28. Two weeks later, on Sunday, Dec. 14, they went on a shooting rampage in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Sixteen people were killed.

Authorities are backtracking the movements of the Akrams while they were here even as they spent most of their time inside their room as attested by the hotel staff.

Foreign news outlets claimed that the duo may have trained with local Islamic militants prior to the incident.

The CCA said that there is no conclusive evidence linking the suspects to local extremist groups and they underwent military training during their visit.

It added that the government is investigating the circumstances surrounding their visit and has rejected claims that the Philippines continues to serve as a training ground for extremist groups.

“Other explanations for the incident must be considered and explored, emphasizing the need to further investigate the nature of their activities in the country during that period,” the CCA said.

The Dawlah Islamiyah-linked group is already down, the CCA said, but not out following the five-month Battle of Marawi in 2017.

The government and civil society groups have debunked the emerging narrative that the Philippines remains a terrorist hotspot.

A month ago, the government was celebrating the neutralization of two ISIS leaders, Abu Jihad and Mohammad Usman Suleiman, demonstrating that the extremist threat persists, even if the hotspot tag now seems incongruous, the CCA added.

The CCA urged the public to remain vigilant and continuously monitor the resurgence of violent extremism, including its reemergence in supposedly violent extremism-free areas such as Basilan.

They added that they have observed worrying signs of mobilization and polarization, including increased youth recruitment efforts and youth defection from their families and clans.

“Premature conclusions and speculations that lack evidence risk fueling religious- and identity-based conflict and may obscure the deeper and more complex drivers of violence and radicalization,” the CCA said.