The Philippines claims the east part of Sabah as part of its territory, based upon the Sultanate of Brunei's cession of its north-east territories to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1703, because of military assistance given by the latter to the former. However, even the Philippines government itself do not recognise the sovereignty of the Sultanate of Sulu today. Until now, a significant number of the population are Filipinos but most of them are refugees who arrived in Sabah in the 70s, and the others are recent migrants just looking for a better life. Today most naturalized Filipinos here are even proud citizens of Sabah and Malaysia. They contribute to society, speak Malay, and even support the local football team (Sabah Rhinos). Sabah would have been part of island group of Mindanao had the Sultanate of Sulu continuously exercised its sovereignty until today. President Ferdinand E. Marcos has ordered in the past that all Philippine maps should include Sabah but this clearly is just a political statement.