The Philippines will investigate reports in the country about the presence of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), its presidential office said Thursday.
"We will investigate organizations abetting or aiding terrorism and will hold them accountable, especially those that may be working as fronts for terrorist and criminal activities," local news outlet ABS-CBN quoted Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella as saying.
"We are also working closely with all other nations to combat terrorism. This is now a global threat that can be better addressed through a unified effort," he added.
The statement came after Turkish Ambassador to the Philippines Esra Cankorur said on Wednesday that the group has been active in the country through a school in its third largest city Zamboanga and two other schools in the capital Manila.
"This is their facade, thinking of them as civic education institutions and innocent charity organizations. They talk about inter-faith dialogue, but they are concealing themselves," Cankorur told the news outlet.
A background check by Anadolu Agency (AA) revealed that one of the institutions referred to by Cankorur is the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School which was founded in 1997 in Zamboanga. The school has been active in holding math competitions and Turkish cultural shows as well as distributing beef during the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival.