We have no links to any terrorist group.
So said two nongovernment organizations (NGOs) running two schools in the Philippines after Turkish Ambassador Esra Cankorur accused them of having connections with extremist organizations.
In a statement, senior officials of the Integrative Center for Alternative Development Foundation, Inc. (ICAD) and Pacific Dialogue Foundation, Inc. (PDF) said the local schools, Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School in Zamboanga City and Fountain International School in Metro Manila, are owned by these local foundations set up by private Filipino and Turkish citizens.
“At the outset, ICAD and PDF vehemently deny that [we] are terrorist organizations and that [we] participated in the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
We do not and have never had any links with any group involved in terror attacks,” the officials said.
“ICAD and PDF have never been involved in any criminal activities, much less terrorist activities in the Philippines or elsewhere. ICAD and PDF are also not affiliated with any terrorist organization,” they added.