About 4,700 Filipinos have fled Sabah due to the continuing armed conflict between the supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and the Royal Malaysian Police, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Thursday.

The displaced Filipinos went to southern Philippine provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the agency said.

The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development ( DSWD) has already provided food and non-food items to the returnees worth 23.79 million pesos (581,662 US dollars).

Six evacuation centers in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi have been pre- identified in anticipation of the influx of more displaced persons from Sabah, NDRRMC said.

Filipinos fled from Sabah after the Malaysian authorities launched a crackdown starting March 1 against Kiram followers who landed in Lahad Datu town in Sabah on Feb. 12 to assert their claim in the resource-rich territory.