Manila
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The father and son suspected of carrying out Sunday’s Bondi Beach massacre spent most of their month-long stay in the Philippines in November holed up in a hotel, rarely leaving their room and eating fast food, a hotel employee told CNN.
A hotel staff member, who gave his name only as Jun, said Sajid and Naveed Akram only left the building for about an hour each day before returning to their rooms.
Witnesses said there were no visitors to the hotel in the southern city of Davao City.
The Akrams’ visit to the Philippines is a key focus of the investigation into the motives and preparations for the anti-Semitic attack that killed 15 people at the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Sydney’s world-famous beaches.
Australian police said they are rushing to find out what the pair did during their stay and whether it was directly related to the attack.
Earlier this week, Australian public broadcaster ABC reported that Australian counterterrorism officials believe the men received military-style training while in the Philippines. Philippine officials said they had not yet seen evidence that the two had received military training and were cooperating with their Australian counterparts.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said shortly after the shooting that the Akrams were inspired by the “Islamic State ideology”, referring to the Islamist terrorist organization commonly known as ISIS. ISIS on Thursday described the Bondi attack as a “source of pride” in its first public comments on the massacre, but did not directly claim responsibility.
The southern island of Mindanao, of which Davao is the largest city, is not a particularly popular tourist destination for foreigners. Like much of the Philippines, the country boasts dense jungles, mountains and tropical beaches, but has endured a painful history of Islamic extremism.
And experts told CNN that although terrorism in the Philippines has declined in recent years, many Islamic extremist groups remain active, arming in more remote areas and seeking to train foreign fighters who have flocked to the Southeast Asian country for years.
The Akrams had originally booked an eight-day stay at GV Hotel starting November 1, but on the eighth day they extended their stay to November 28 and paid the remaining balance in cash.
The hotel the men stayed at is described online as a one-star hotel with affordable rooms.
Davao Police questioned hotel employees at GV Hotel on Wednesday.
Jun told CNN that the two were very courteous and respectful of the staff, greeting them with smiles and saying good morning, hello and good night.
Staff were also allowed into the room for cleaning each day, and the staff did not find anything unpleasant, only finding a takeaway food package from Jollibee, the country’s iconic fried chicken chain.
Mr June said he later recognized the men when he saw images of the Bondi attack. The only difference was that Naveed’s hair was shorter than when he visited the hotel.
The Philippine government announced this week that it was in contact with Australian law enforcement.
“We reaffirm our support for efforts to protect communities from intolerance, hatred and violence,” Foreign Affairs Minister Teresa P. Lazaro wrote about X after speaking with Australia’s foreign minister.
Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said Wednesday that an investigation into whether the suspected gunmen trained with Filipino armed groups has yet to yield any evidence, according to the Associated Press. “There is no evidence or information that they were trained” in Mindanao, Ano said.
Ano also dismissed media reports depicting the southern Philippines as a hotspot for violent extremism as “outdated” and “misleading.”
Mindanao has been plagued by unrest and conflict for decades, including clashes between authorities and local separatist movements, and widespread allegations of human rights abuses by all parties.
In 2017, armed groups in the Philippines caught many by surprise when the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups, which had declared allegiance to the Islamic State group, overran and occupied Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim-majority city.
The violence forced more than 350,000 residents to flee the city and surrounding areas, and the Philippine military liberated the city after months of bloody siege.
Since that siege, Philippine authorities have cracked down on armed groups. In the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, the Philippines ranked 20th out of 79 countries on a measure of the impact of terrorism. In contrast, it was ranked 9th in 2019, before the law took effect.
“The remnants of these groups are fragmented, deprived of leadership and operationally degraded,” Ano said.
