34 Navy warships patrolling Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Sulu waters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Navy said Thursday that it has deployed 34 warships to assist evacuees from Sabah and assure that supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III will not be able to slip into the island state.

"We have more than enough vessels to cover the country," Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic said, assuring that their units are still capable of detecting and preventing intrusions in any part of the country.

The Navy started the blockade and intensified patrol in the waters of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and  Basilan after Malaysian forces started the offensive against the armed followers of the Sulu sultan led by his brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

On Wednesday, the Navy reported that 35 armed supporters of the sultanate were intercepted in waters off Tawi-Tawi. The sultan's supporters were on board two boats.

Aside from security patrol operations, the Navy said that some of the 34 warships were deployed to assist in the government's humanitarian efforts for Filipino evacuees from Sabah.

More than a thousand Filipino residents of Sabah have returned to Tawi-Tawi since the Malaysian security forces' started the offensive against Kiram's men.

There were earlier reports that Malaysian security forces were abusing the Filipino evacuees, prompting the Philippine goverment's sending of humanitarian groups to Sabah, particularly in Lahad Datu.