PH still studying US request to become ‘processing center’ for Afghans

For more than 1 million Afghans who fled war and poverty to Pakistan, these are uncertain times. Since Pakistan announced a crackdown on migrants, some 600,000 have been deported and at least a million remain in Pakistan in hiding. It’s harder for them to earn money, rent accommodation, buy food or get medical help because they run the risk of getting caught by police or being reported to authorities by Pakistanis. —AP photo/Fareed Khan

MANILA, Philippines — The government is “open to the idea” of the Philippines serving as a “processing area” for Afghan nationals displaced by their homeland’s conflict before they are resettled in the United States, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official said on Tuesday.

One year after a Senate inquiry was launched to tackle Washington’s request, Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez told reporters that talks with the US Embassy regarding the details of a possible agreement were still ongoing.

“Initially, we discussed [hosting] a few hundred [Afghan nationals] and if it works out, then we’ll accommodate more,” he said.

READ: Displaced, repatriated: Afghan people make grueling journeys to survive

Vasquez added that their main concern was the country’s national security. “The other side wants to fast-track it, but we are very careful on this matter because once they’re here, we have treaty obligations, and it would be difficult to interfere.”

The DOJ official disclosed the development during the launch of the country’s first-ever National Refugee Day, set on June 20.

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo previously said that the US government formalized its proposal in October 2022 through a “concept note” sent to Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez.

Manalo said the Afghans, who would not be considered refugees according to the DOJ, would only stay in the Philippines briefly while waiting for the US to approve their special immigration visas.

Short-term stay

The Afghan nationals are former and current workers employed by the United States in Afghanistan, as well as their families, according to Romualdez.

He said that the US government told him they would be housed in the Philippines for “two weeks at the most” while the cost of their stay would also be shouldered by the US government.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, in a speech delivered by Vasquez at Tuesday’s event announcing the country’s first National Refugee Day on June 20, said the move signified “our commitment to our long humanitarian legacy of opening our doors and providing support to people who have crossed international borders to seek safety and protection.”

The DOJ estimates that there are “a thousand” recognized refugees in the Philippines, mostly from Middle Eastern and African countries.

Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Manila, said that globally, more than 114 million people have been forced to flee their homes by the end of September 2023, due to conflict, persecution and human rights violations.