MANILA, Philippines – A Quezon City judge on Monday (December 9th) acquitted two Indonesians and a Malaysian who were suspected of belonging to the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Judge Eleuterio Bathan of Branch 92 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court ruled that the three were arrested nine years ago without warrants and illegally searched.

He directed the Bureau of Immigration to initiate deportation proceedings against Indonesians Mohammad Nasir Hamid and Mohammed Yusop Karin Faiz, and Malaysian Ted Yolanda, who were illegal aliens.

"The government's drive against terrorism and possessed or owned illegal firearms needs the support of every citizen but they should not undermine the fundamental rights of every citizen as enshrined in the Constitution," Bathan said.

The three, along with a Filipino companion, were arrested December 12th, 2004, as they disembarked from a ship at the port of Zamboanga City. Police alleged the suspects possessed a quarter of a kilo of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and firearms intended for terror acts in Mindanao.

The judge ordered that all three men be released from the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa.