ZAMBOANGA CITY, 31 January 2004 — Malaysia has deported here more than 400 illegal Filipino workers arrested in the oil-rich eastern state of Sabah, Philippine officials said.

Some 236 Filipinos arrived in Zamboanga City on Wednesday onboard the ferry Mary Joy, said Conde Cabaquit, of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) here. He said 206 illegal workers were also deported here on Jan. 10 from Sabah.

“The deportees, mostly from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are temporarily housed at the local crisis center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),” he said.

Cabaquit said a total of 12,690 illegal Filipino workers in Sabah were arrested and deported last year.

Malaysian authorities on Tuesday also arrested 91 Filipinos, including two children, after they were found to have either entered Sabah illegally or abused the temporary working visit passes, the Malaysian Daily Express reported in its website.

Sabah Enforcement chief Syed Shukor Syed Ahmad said most of the Filipinos were working in construction sites and as household helpers.

He said among those arrested were 15 Filipino women working in night clubs in Penampang district. He said some had tried to escape, but the officers managed to arrest them.

Philippine military chief Gen. Narciso Abaya said he ordered the navy to tighten security patrols in the southern region to prevent Filipinos from illegally crossing to Sabah, about 5 hours by boat from Tawi-Tawi province.

“We have been persistent in our efforts to prevent the entry of illegal Filipino workers to Sabah and I have ordered the navy to intensify border partrols in coordination with the Malaysian authorities,” Gen. Abaya told Arab News.

The Philippines and Malaysia have an existing cross-border agreement and regularly hold a joint maritime exercise aimed at strengthening military bilateral relations.

Despite the tight maritime patrols in the southern Philippines, many Filipinos continue to enter Sabah illegally either to work in the palm oil plantations or construction sites and others as domestic helpers because of the high pay. The local currency exchange rate for a Malaysian ringgit is now at P14.

Illegal boat owners in Tawi-Tawi province and Sulu are making a killing on the trade and many charge as much as P5,000 ($89) per passenger on a one-way trip to Sabah.