'No problem with me': Pimentel on Afghan refugees' plea
Published Jun 13, 2023 09:46 am
“No problem with me.”
“This will be a good humanitarian act on the part of the Philippines,’’ Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III on the request of the United States to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. to allow Afghan refugees to temporarily stay in the country.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Senate PRIB Photo)
“However, my question is: how come the US cannot do all those temporary measures, the processing and the hosting themselves in US soil?” he asked. “Nakapag tataka (It is baffling),’’ he added. The former Senate President said he is sure that the US “has better and bigger existing buildings for this use than us.’’ Queried on the need for the Senate to conduct a Senate. Inquiry on this, Pimentel replied: “Senate inquiry yes puede (it is possible) so that the Senate is involved more in foreign policy matters like this.” Last week, Senator Imee Marcos urged newly-appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to shed light on a request by the United States to grant some Afghans special immigrant status in the Philippines. Marcos, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, asked why the U.S. government wanted to house Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan. In Senate Resolution 651, filed Thursday, she called for an inquiry into the real intention behind the U.S. request since no data have been made public on the said Afghans' status as legitimate refugees or employees of the U.S. government or American companies. "During the past year, security and espionage threats have substantially increased because of the sharp escalation in tension between rival superpowers," Marcos said. Malacanang, through the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), has held a "Technical Coordination Meeting" with other government agencies on Wednesday to take up the "proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of Special Immigrant Visa applicants from Afghanistan." However, the government agencies called to attend could not thoroughly discuss the matter because the PMS did not provide details about the meeting other than its general topic, date, and venue. Sources privy to the meeting told the presidential sister that a memorandum of agreement was already in the works. ”There's a lack of transparency in the present case," Marcos said, comparing the previous administration's policy of accepting Afghan refugees when the Taliban took over their homeland in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops. "We need to know the real nature of the agreement between the Philippines and the United States and the course of action the executive branch plans to take," Marcos said.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (Senate PRIB Photo)
“However, my question is: how come the US cannot do all those temporary measures, the processing and the hosting themselves in US soil?” he asked. “Nakapag tataka (It is baffling),’’ he added. The former Senate President said he is sure that the US “has better and bigger existing buildings for this use than us.’’ Queried on the need for the Senate to conduct a Senate. Inquiry on this, Pimentel replied: “Senate inquiry yes puede (it is possible) so that the Senate is involved more in foreign policy matters like this.” Last week, Senator Imee Marcos urged newly-appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to shed light on a request by the United States to grant some Afghans special immigrant status in the Philippines. Marcos, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, asked why the U.S. government wanted to house Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan. In Senate Resolution 651, filed Thursday, she called for an inquiry into the real intention behind the U.S. request since no data have been made public on the said Afghans' status as legitimate refugees or employees of the U.S. government or American companies. "During the past year, security and espionage threats have substantially increased because of the sharp escalation in tension between rival superpowers," Marcos said. Malacanang, through the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), has held a "Technical Coordination Meeting" with other government agencies on Wednesday to take up the "proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of Special Immigrant Visa applicants from Afghanistan." However, the government agencies called to attend could not thoroughly discuss the matter because the PMS did not provide details about the meeting other than its general topic, date, and venue. Sources privy to the meeting told the presidential sister that a memorandum of agreement was already in the works. ”There's a lack of transparency in the present case," Marcos said, comparing the previous administration's policy of accepting Afghan refugees when the Taliban took over their homeland in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops. "We need to know the real nature of the agreement between the Philippines and the United States and the course of action the executive branch plans to take," Marcos said.