MANILA, Dec. 22 -- Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Monday strongly rejected reports branding Mindanao as a "terror hotspot" amid information that the suspects in the bloody Bondi Beach shooting in Australia traveled there 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 description ignores developments made by the Philippine government in transforming Mindanao from a region of conflict into a "bastion of peace and development."

Galvez called on the international media to "exercise discernment and responsibility."

"Branding an ...