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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PBBM to 'follow the good deeds of his father' on Afghan refugees issue, says ranking solon

PBBM to 'follow the good deeds of his father' on Afghan refugees issue, says ranking solon

Published Jun 15, 2023 02:38 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (left) and the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. (MANILA BULLETIN, Wikipedia)


A ranking congressman expects President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to "follow the good deeds of his father" when it comes to the issue of whether or not to accept Afghan refugees into the country. Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said that during the time of President Marcos’ father, the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the Philippines accepted thousands of Vietnamese “boat people” after South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. “I am sure President Bongbong Marcos would follow the example and good deeds of his father,” Rodriguez said. Reports said there is a plan to temporarily shelter displaced Afghans, although it has reportedly not been approved yet by President Marcos. “We are a compassionate nation. We are a caring people who will always receive refugees for humanitarian reasons. We can limit the number, but let us host Afghans fleeing the war in their country and their cruel Taliban leaders,” Rodriguez said. The chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional cited examples in the past when the Philippines opened its doors to distressed foreigners. He said that in September 2021, then-Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. revealed that the Philippines had taken in Afghan refugee women and children following the fall of Afghanistan to Taliban. Decades earlier, in the late 1930s, the administration of the late President Manuel Quezon took in some 1,200 Jewish refugees from Europe who escaped Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. “I believe Israel is eternally thankful to our country for that humanitarian gesture,” said Rodriguez. He added that there are a few other instances in the past when the country served as temporary home to asylum seekers. “I am sure that refugees would want to go back to their home countries to join their loves ones and their compatriots when the situation normalizes. That is also the dream of every Filipino when he settles in a foreign land as a worker or a temporary resident,” Rodriguez stressed.

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Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. Afghan refugess Rufus Rodriguez
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