MANILA — Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. rejected reports labeling Mindanao as a “terror hotspot,” following news that the suspects in the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia traveled to the region last month.

“These claims are not only unvalidated by intelligence, but it is also deeply unjust to the peace-loving people of Mindanao,” Galvez said in a statement, adding that such descriptions ignore the government’s efforts to transform Mindanao from a conflict area into a “bastion of peace and development.”

Galvez urged the international media to “exercise discernment and responsibility,” noting that generalizing an entire region based on the movements of individuals unfairly stigmatizes its population.

He also cited President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who rejected “in the strongest terms the recent misleading claims” portraying the Philippines as a training ground 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,” Marcos said during the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 90th founding anniversary on Dec. 19.

The Bureau of Immigration confirmed last week that the Bondi Beach suspects — Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed — were in the Philippines from Nov. 1 to 28, reportedly staying at a hotel in Davao City.

The mass shooting in Australia, reportedly motivated by Islamic State ideology, left 15 people dead. Sajid Akram was killed by police at the scene while Naveed was wounded.