The "missing" Jordanian journalist and his two companions are in constant communication with local government officials, said the chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Wednesday.
In a television report, Jesse Robredo, DILG Secretary, said Baker Abdulla Atyani and his two crewmen were able to call Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and inform Tan that they are shooting a documentary about the bandit group Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu.
Robredo was quoted as saying that "as far as the government is concerned", Atyani and his companions are "safe".
Even Atyani's Filipino crew - Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letrero - did not seek help when they talked with Tan.
Atyani, who interviewed Osama Bin Laden a few months before Osama's death last year, is the Southeast Asia bureau chief of Dubai-based news channel Al Arabiya.
Robredo added that he will also ask the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration to bar Atyani from returning to the Philippines once the journalist is out of the country.
He said Atyani was dishonest and deceived the government officials when the journalist failed to declare that he would be shooting a documentary about the Abu Sayyaf.
Atyani and his companions were last seen leaving their hostel in Sulu and riding a van to an unknown destination on June 12. Since then the trio have yet to return to their hotel.
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