ACCEPTING international refugees must be assured that they are free from an “ideology of destruction”, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said.
Duterte, who is also the former mayor of Davao City, said this after being asked during his latest episode of SMNI News Channel’s “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” whether it is a humanitarian act or a security threat to host Afghan nationals in the Philippines while their applications to migrate to the United States (US) are being processed.
Duterte said he is not really totally against welcoming refugees to enter the Philippines, especially in acts of humanitarian interest, mentioning the country’s obligations as a member of the United Nations (UN).
His concern is whether or not the Afghan nationals are “free from an ideology of destruction, killing, and bombing” when they enter the country.
“It is always within the power of discretion of the receiving state to accept or refuse entry of other people, other than its nationals and I would say... no, we cannot be compelled to [accept them],” Duterte said in the television program, June 19.
He added that it should not be also a guarantee that the country will be comfortable accepting Afghan refugees “just because they are working for the United States”.
“How are we supposed to be secure of the interest of our country when we are accepting foreigners that we do not know?” the former president said.
Duterte also said Afghan refugees' status might drive them to entertain ideas of revenge that would be detrimental to them and to the country they are living in.
“‘Yung iba kasi (other refugees), they might have other reasons aside from being a refugee, maybe it's a matter of convenience for them to work for the government forces in Afghanistan, but it does not automatically become a status that you are freed from any ideology belief,” Duterte said.
“We might be unconsciously accepting a troubled group of persons, we are not certain and I don't know how far we were allowed to vet to assess and understand who these people are,” he added.
Reportedly, Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., questioned the US' intent to bring their supposed supporters to other countries instead of their own.
However, Marcos Jr. said the administration has already agreed to a discreet plan to grant the US’s proposal, with a memorandum of agreement to let Afghans in, is already being prepared. ICE