MANILA - The High Court of Kota Kinabalu has delivered its ruling on the case of 26 Filipinos and a Malaysian accused of waging war against the Malaysian king and being a member of a terrorist group in connection with the Lahad Datu incident in February 2013, the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia said Friday.

Judge Stephen Chung found no prima facie evidence against 11 of the 27 accused and charges against them were ordered dropped.

The court gave the prosecution 14 days to file an appeal on the dismissal of the charges. If no appeal is filed, 10 of the 11 acquitted will be released and sent home.

Totoh bin Hismullah, one of the 11, may remain in Malaysia as he was found by the court to be a Malaysian citizen and no longer a Filipino.

Meanwhile, the court found prima facie evidence against the remaining 16 Filipinos and have been ordered by the court to present, through their lawyers, evidence in their defense.

The determination made by the court is only preliminary and was based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, the embassy said.

A verdict on the culpability, if any, of the 16 remaining accused will not be released until defense has completed the presentation of its evidence.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the 27 accused received assistance from the government.

The 27 Filipinos were involved in the 2013 standoff wherein hundreds of militants from Tawi-Tawi arrived in Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysia.