FILIPINOS have agreed with the national government on its plan to provide temporary relocation for Afghan refugees who are awaiting their papers to resettle in the United States.
“Are they a security risk? I don't think so. These people have suffered severe trauma from violence. If there is a proper facility and they aren't isolated in our country, they can blend with our local community,” Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante Europe, told Sunstar Philippines.
“The government should be prepared not only for the logistics needed by the refugees. I hope there is a program ready in the local community to welcome them,” Martinez added.
According to the Filipino migrant leader, the Philippines is currently hosting Palestinian refugees, adding that “we have not seen any problems caused by them.”
Yuoseff Al-jurayd Kanda, a 19-year-old university student in Leyte province, added that based on the country’s history, the Philippines had welcomed refugees in the past.
“We should open our doors to them. We also have a large Muslim population here that could guide the government on what to do,” he added.
Catholic priest Christian Ofilan said that welcoming the Afghan would symbolize “what it means for us to be a Christian nation.”
"As Filipino Catholics, we are known for our hospitality,” Ofilan said in an interview with Sunstar Philippines on August 24.
Meanwhile, John Lazaro, coordinator of the national organization of young student leaders Spark, said their group “stands with all refugees worldwide, including those fleeing from violence and conflict in Afghanistan.”
“However, we have to question why there is an Afghan refugee crisis in the first place. Answering this question means placing the blame on the United States, which has maintained its economic and political interests for decades, culminating in its invasion and subsequent occupation of the country,” said Lazaro in a separate report from Catholic news site UCA News.
Lazaro reminded that the US “should not abuse the Philippines' long history of openness to refugees.”
“Washington bears responsibility for creating the political situation in Afghanistan that led to the refugee exodus, from arming insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda, in the 1980s, to propping up a corrupt and incompetent regime that collapsed the moment US.troops withdrew in 2021. The US refugee processing center should not be here; it should be on US territory,” he said.
Renato Reyes Jr., president of the progressive group Bayan Muna, maintained that “we're not against helping refugees.”
“The United States is responsible for the war that created Afghan refugees. Yet the United States wants other countries to shoulder the burden of such a war. Such hypocrisy,” Reyes said.
On August 20, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that “each applicant shall be authorized to stay in the Philippines for no more than 59 days.”
“All applicants will be subject to full security vetting by Philippine authorities and must secure the appropriate entry visa prior to arrival, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations,” DFA spokesperson Tess Daza said in a statement to the media.
For security reasons, the Philippine government did not disclose the exact number of Afghan refugees to be allowed entry to the country.
Under the agreement, the US government will provide essential services such as food, housing, security, medical care, and transportation for Afghan evacuees who will be hosted in the Philippines.
In April 1940, the Philippines gave temporary shelter to about 1,300 Jewish refugees. Over 6,000 “White Russians” were accommodated after the October Revolution and Russian Civil War, and around 400,000 Vietnamese or “boat people” arrived in the Philippines from 1980 to 1994 while awaiting relocation to other nations.
Since June 2023, Catholic bishops have also agreed to welcome displaced Afghans from Taliban occupation in 2021, noting that the Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)