The Philippines has acceded to a United States request to allow the entry and temporary housing of a limited number of nationals from Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. Under the arrangement with Washington, the DFA said the US government “is supporting necessary services for those Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical, and transportation to complete visa processing” before resettlement to the United States.
The agreement is currently undergoing the final domestic procedures required for effectiveness, a DFA statement said. In Washington, the State Department lauded the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the United States and said it “appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines.”
They added that Afghan nationals, reportedly US supporters, will temporarily stay in the country until their SIVs are issued for resettlement to the United States. Details were not provided on the exact number of Afghans who will transit to the Philippines.
Citing the Philippines’ historical tradition of providing a haven to refugees in the past, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier said that the US views the country as the place “they can trust and will do such humanitarian act” of allowing them to process all of these people who worked with the US government in Afghanistan. This arrangement was finalized three years after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
“These people and their families might be in danger as an act of reprisal,” said Romualdez, adding that “the most logical place is a trusted ally like the Philippines.” The US request was first revealed in 2023 after Sen. Imee Marcos, sister of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, filed a query to have transparency on the deal.
The country will be put at substantial risk by accepting the US request under people who are a threat to national security and public safety,” Sen. Marcos said. However, Romualdez clarified, “It is not a refugee issue, but a processing issue.””It’s more of a legal matter,” he said.
According to Teresita Daza, spokesperson of Foreign Affairs, the pact is good only for a limited number of Afghan applicants for a limited period who shall be authorized to stay here in the Philippines for no more than 59 days.
“They shall undergo full security vetting by Philippine authorities and shall secure an appropriate entry visa before arrival, by Philippine laws and regulations,” Daza said. “Notwithstanding possession of a Philippine visa, the Bureau of Immigration shall retain full discretionary power to exclude any applicant from entering the country as a result of the regular immigration examination upon arrival in the country.”
All applicants will be confined to a billet facility while their SIV applications are being processed by the US Embassy in Manila, Daza said, though she did not disclose the location of the temporary quarters.
On the other hand, the US government, in coordination with the facility manager International Organization for Migration, shall ensure that the applicants, particularly children, are provided with enough social, educational, religious, and emotional support, among others, while they are at the billet facility, the DOS said.
The applicants would have already undergone medical screening in Afghanistan and shall only need to leave their billet facility once – during their consular interview at the US Embassy here in Manila, Daza said. This is an executive agreement, meaning it will need only the approval of President Marcos before it becomes effective.
