PH starts temporary hosting of 300 Afghans

MANILA, Philippines — About 300 Afghan nationals — at least half of them minors — arrived in the Philippines on Monday aboard a chartered flight to complete the processing of their special immigrant visas (SIVs) for their resettlement to the United States.

Under an agreement between Washington and Manila signed in 2024, not a single peso is expected to be spent by the Filipino people, as the US government will provide all necessary services for the SIV applicants during their temporary stay in the Philippines, including food, housing, medical care, security and transportation until their visas have been processed.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said the Afghan nationals were provided entry visas after they had completed extensive security vetting and undergone full medical screenings before their arrival.

The applicants will stay in a secure, undisclosed billet facility and will be allowed to leave only once to attend their consular interview at the US Embassy in Manila.

READ: Imee Marcos questions PH’s decision to host US-bound Afghan refugees

This was contrary to a plan discussed in an earlier Senate hearing led by Sen. Imee Marcos, one of the critics of the joint project, for the applicants to leave the billet facility for medical screenings, as the US government had arranged for all medical exams to be completed in Afghanistan before they departed for Manila.

Better life in the US

The Afghan nationals seeking resettlement primarily worked for the US government in Afghanistan or were deemed eligible for SIVs but were left behind when Washington withdrew from the country and Taliban militants took back power in a chaotic period in 2021.

A US Department of State official, in a recent briefing, shared the background of the Afghan nationals, describing them as individuals and families “who took the chance to come and work” for the US government, sharing their dream of building public health and education for a better future for the children.

“They wanted us to succeed with these programs ... to create a better life for their kids, and their hard work helped us a lot, but in the end, fast forward to August 2021, and it worked and the government fell,” the US official said, referring to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.

“So Americans, particularly those who worked so hard there, think we owe them the future that we tried to build in their country in America. And we’re very grateful to you, this government, you Filipino people, for helping us,” the official added.

A senior Philippine official, who also asked not to be named in this report, shared similar sentiments, emphasizing that the joint project reflects the two countries’ shared commitment.

“Let everyone be clear that this is about our shared desire and our shared commitment to provide the children, women, and men who are part of this entire project the opportunity to start anew and to rebuild their lives with hope in a better future,” said the official.

Not a danger to society

The official clarified that the Afghan nationals are not refugees.

“These people are not considered to be a danger to our society and to the communities in which they will be hosted temporarily as their visas are processed here,” the official said during a briefing ahead of the Afghan nationals’ arrival.

According to the Philippine official, the program will last only 100 days, meaning all SIV applicants must leave the Philippines by March.

However, their individual stay is capped at a maximum of 59 days.

If, for any reason, they cannot complete visa processing within the designated period or are deemed ineligible to stay, they will be required to leave the Philippines.

The US government assured the Philippines that any unprocessed applicants would be relocated to another country or platform, the official added.

Since the US government will bear all costs for the sustainment of the applicants while they are in the Philippines, the arrangement is therefore “expected to generate businesses and jobs in the host community,” the official noted.

“The US government, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration as facility manager, will ensure the applicants, especially children, receive adequate social, educational, religious, and emotional support during their stay,” the official said.

“This was never a demand on the part of the US. This was a request; this was a joint project that we had with the US government, and there was never any pressure [or] negotiating leverage exercised against us in regard to this particular project,” the Philippine official added.

The US government formalized its proposal for this joint project in October 2022 through a “concept note” submitted to the Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez.

Rekindled relations

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first relayed the request to his Philippine counterpart in 2022, and President Joe Biden discussed the request with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when he visited the United States last year.

The agreement was officially signed on July 29, 2024.

Marcos has rekindled relations with the United States since winning the presidency by a landslide margin two years ago.

—WITH REPORTS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

(2025/01/07-05:55)