MANILA. Washington’s request for Manila to temporarily host its former Afghan refugees while awaiting their resettlement in the United States is still under review, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
“The Philippines has not entered or finalized any agreement with the United States on that matter,” the DFA said in a statement Friday. “Consultations with relevant Philippine Government agencies are ongoing.”
Philippine envoy to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier said the request was made in October 2022, noting that “all are destined” to return to the US after their special immigration visas are processed.
In Senate inquiry on Friday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said US President Joe Biden also raised the request with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the latter’s state visit to Washington in May.
The US government will shoulder all the costs should the Philippines agree to assist in the processing of US visas of its former Afghan employees fleeing the Taliban.
The DFA pointed out that the arrangement “will not involve the admission or hosting” of Afghan refugees.
Moreover, Manalo said there may be a “pilot group” of Afghan nationals if ever Manila and Washington made an agreement.
“All I can say at this point, and I say that because there’s nothing really agreed yet, but it seems that there’s a possibility, if we are able to find an arrangement, we would be having, perhaps, a pilot group, maybe a limited number,” he told the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
If that happens, the US and the Philippines will look for a site to house the Afghans while their visas are being processed.
“Also the United States, with Philippine officials, would try and select a suitable site where they can be located while they are being processed or vetted…It would be up to the Philippines to impose mobility restrictions and internal movements within the Philippines,” Manalo said.
Romualdez added that 1,000 to 1,500 Afghans per batch would be allowed in the country.
“Nasa atin na kung ilan ang gusto natin, pero ang request nila ay anywhere between 1,000 to 1,500 per batch. Ipo-process nila and they will go the United States. Kung gusto natin ng less, pwede rin,” the envoy told senators.
[Translation: It’s up to us on how many Afghans we will allow, but they requested to allow the entry of anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500 per batch. They will process their visa applications and they will go to the United States. If we want less, that’s fine too.]
The Afghans will be issued a non-immigrant visa to the Philippines that is good for only 59 days.
“So, there’s a time limit for that visa. Once it expires, the United States, I assume, is obligated either to process it immediately or they have to leave the country,” Romualdez said.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
