Corruption and lack of anti-terrorism law in the immigration bureau, police and prosecution offices of the Philippines are major blocks that hinder the effective fight against terrorism in Southeast Asia, an updated annual report by the U.S. State Department said on Monday.

The report, quoted here by the U.S. Embassy's website, said that corruption in these agencies have weakened the Philippines' border protection against the possible entry of suspected terrorists.

"Understaffed customs and immigration offices, manned by undertrained and underpaid officials, are extremely vulnerable to corruption," the report said.

The report also expressed alarm over the "growing cooperation" among Islamist terrorist organizations in the country, namely the Jemaah Islamiyah, the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Rajah Sulaiman Movement.

It is a "major and disturbing trend in the Philippines," the report said.

The absence of an anti-terrorism law, as well as the " restrictions in gathering evidence," continue to be among the stumbling blocks in "building effective terrorism cases in the Philippines," the report noted.

However, the report said the Philippines had made some progress in its fight against terrorism last year, particularly with the arrest and conviction of several suspected terrorists.

The U.S. State Department's latest assessment of the Philippines' fight against terrorism was included in its 2005 Country Reports on Terrorism released on April 28.

The annual country report is required by the U.S. Congress to " provide an assessment of terrorism worldwide," according to the U. S. embassy website.

Source: Xinhua