The Philippines has agreed with the United States to temporarily host a limited number of Afghan refugees while they are being processed for resettlement in the U.S., the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila announced Tuesday.
Under the deal, the DFA said that Afghan nationals seeking a “special immigrant visa” to the United States could stay in the Philippines, a key ally of Washington in the Asia-Pacific region, for no longer than two months.
The deal’s announcement by both countries came after members of the Taliban militant group marked the third anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021 – two decades after their ouster by a U.S.-led international military coalition.
“The Philippines and the United States have agreed on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for special immigrant visas and resettlement to the United States,” the DFA said in a statement.
The U.S. has agreed to support necessary services for the Afghans including food, housing, security, medical and transportation, the statement said.
Separate statements issued by the Philippine foreign office and the U.S. State Department did not include details about the number. The Philippine Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for information.
The DFA said the deal was “currently undergoing the final domestic procedures” required before it went into effect. The deal would need to be signed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for it to become operational, according to DFA spokeswoman Ma. Teresita Daza.
“All applicants will be subject to full security vetting by Philippine authorities and should secure an appropriate entry visa prior to arrival, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations,” she told reporters.
All costs related to airfare and housing of Afghan nationals would be shouldered by Washington, which has also assured that each applicant would properly undergo all clearances beforehand, Daza said.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila said those seeking visas would temporarily reside at a center operated here by Washington, but it declined to give details for “operational security purposes.”
“We will not comment on the capacity of the platform or how many guests are in the Philippines at any given time,” the embassy said, adding it was discussing the “timeline” for the plan with Philippine officials.
Washington thanked Manila “for supporting Afghan allies of the United States” and added that it “appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines,” the U.S. State Department said in its statement.
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez told local news outlet GMA News Online that Washington sees Manila as a place that can be trusted to perform such a humanitarian act.
“These people and their families might be in danger in [an] act of reprisal,” GMA News quoted Romualdez as saying. “The most logical place [for them] is a trusted ally like the Philippines.”
Thousands of Afghans and their families were evacuated from Kabul in August 2021, as they fled when the last of U.S. and international coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan and its capital fell to the Taliban.
While none were taken to the Philippines according to officials, many of those who left were Afghan nationals who served as support staff to coalition forces when the Americans were there.
The two countries began the negotiations in May 2023 after a request from President Joe Biden during Marcos’ visit to Washington. The U.S. formally sent the Philippine a letter about its request, Marcos administration officials said.
But Marcos, a staunch pro-U.S. ally in the region, had said there were “many issues” that needed to be thrashed out, including concerns aired by security analysts, as well as his own sister, Sen. Imee Marcos.
Among those is the possibility that allowing Afghan refugees into the country could lead to an intelligence lapse and a spillover of violence in the Philippine south, where Islamic State-linked militants are still operating.
Manila’s deal with Washington on Afghan refugees comes amid strengthened diplomatic and military ties between the two security allies under Marcos.
Last month, the U.S. announced an “unprecedented” infusion of U.S. $500 million to help the Philippines defend its shores amid increasing territorial threats from China over the South China Sea.
