MANILA, Philippines – The Filipino family that faces deportation from Japan will receive help from concerned government agencies when they reintegrate back to Philippine society, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

“The DFA and other concerned agencies are ready to extend humanitarian and other assistance to the Calderon family, including their reintegration into Philippine society, contingent on the results of the proceedings underway in Japan with respect to that country's implementation of its laws,” said DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos in a text message.

The Calderons, whose 13-year-old daughter Noriko was born in Japan and raised to speak only Japanese, refused to leave that country after authorities there found their years’ long stay was illegal.

Conejos said the immigration case of Arlan and Sarah Calderon was being closely monitored by the department.

“The Philippine embassy in Tokyo is in touch with the family on the matter of their residency status,” he said.

The teenage daughter has opted to stay in Japan, complicating the deportation proceedings of her parents. The Japanese Ministry of Justice has given Noriko the option of going back to the Philippines with her parents or to remain in Japan.

The DFA said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was willing to help the child adjust.

The Calderons’ case has attracted attention from international
agencies like the United Nations, which has asked for a copy of the Calderons’ case file for review, and Amnesty International, which has called on Japanese authorities to allow the couple to stay with their daughter in Japan.

AI argued that the in the child’s interest, her parents should not be deported back to the Philippines.

But the DFA is wary of helping the Calderons who violated Japanese laws, as the Philippines likewise seeks to strictly enforce its immigration laws.