THE country has agreed to a request by the United States to temporarily host a US immigrant visa processing centre for a limited number of Afghan nationals aspiring to resettle in America, the treaty allies announced.
The Philippine government’s approval of the request, which initially faced local concerns over potential security and legal issues, reflects how relations between Manila and Washington have deepened under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in 2022.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said the agreement was undergoing final domestic procedures and needs to be finally ratified by Marcos before it takes effect. It did not provide other details, including how many Afghans would be allowed to temporarily stay in the Philippines at any time while their special immigrant visas for resettlement to the US are being completed.
A senior Philippine official, however, said that only 150 to 300 applicants would be accommodated in the Philippines under the “one-time” deal.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Assistant Secretary Teresita Daza said Afghan nationals should secure a visa to enter the Philippines and would be subjected to “full security vetting.” Each visa applicant can stay not more than 59 days.
The US government will shoulder the costs for the stay of the Afghan nationals, including food, housing, security and medical and transportation expenses, Daza said.
She added that the US government and the International Organisation for Migration as manager of the unspecified facility where the Afghan visa applicants would be billeted, would ensure they have adequate social, educational, religious and other support.
The Afghan nationals to be considered for resettlement primarily worked for the US government in Afghanistan or were deemed eligible for US special immigrant visas but were left behind when Washington withdrew from the country as Taliban militants took back power in a chaotic period in 2021.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first relayed the request to his Philippine counterpart in 2022, and President Joe Biden discussed the request when Marcos visited the United States last year, Philippine officials said.
Marcos said last year that he was told by American officials that a maximum of 1,000 Afghan nationals would be allowed to stay in the Philippines at any one time while their special immigrant visas are being processed.
Some Filipino officials have expressed fears the Afghan nationals could become targets of attacks while in the Philippines. Others raised legal questions about an arrangement where US authorities would have a say in vetting who could enter the Philippines.
One prospective problem is what to do with Afghan nationals whose US special visa immigrant application is indefinitely stalled or rejected, Marcos said and expressed concern that thousands of Afghan nationals could be stranded in the country while awaiting relocation to the US.
Marcos has rekindled relations with the US since winning the presidency with a landslide margin two years ago.
In February last year, he allowed an expansion of the American military presence under a 2014 defence agreement in a decision that China warned would allow American forces to gain a staging ground and threaten regional stability. — AP
