Australian gets 7 years for extremist try

MANILA, Philippines — An Australian who led a group that reportedly tried to sail from Australia to Mindanao in 2016 to join Muslim extremist rebels has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Robert Cerantino, 34, was the last of six men from Melbourne to be sentenced for their attempt to “engage in hostile activity” in Mindanao, according to a Twitter feed by Australian Ambassador to Manila Steve Robinson.

According to court records, despite their lack of experience with boats,  the men bought a boat which they loaded with survival gear, navigational equipment and maps, and towed it to Cape York peninsula in northern Australia from where they planned to sail to Mindanao. —Dona Z. Pazzibugan