Marcos awaiting DFA, nat'l security cluster inputs on US request — PH envoy
There is still no go signal from President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to grant the request made by Washington to let Afghan nationals stay in the Philippines while waiting for their Special Immigrant Visa from the United States, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel "Babe" Romualdez said Thursday, June 15.
Marcos' greenlight is contingent on an assessment of pros and cons by concerned agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the national security cluster, Romualdez added.
Washington lobbied the request in the US in October last year.
But until now, there is still no decision from Manila, which proves that the government is taking a thorough process before approving it, Romualdez said.
"In November, when Vice President Kamala Harris went to the Philippines... the vice president actually asked the President if he had received their request. And I think the President said yes, and I think something to the effect that the President said that he would look into it," he said in an interview with CNN Philippines, proving the government is not making any haste decision.
Meanwhile, Romualdez also said Washington's request was merely a request and not a demand. It was not also a secret, contrary to some claims that are trying to "mislead the people," he added.
The diplomat felt relief when Senator Imee Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, called for an inquiry regarding the request so it can "bring out all the concerns that we have."
"That's the reason why it's taken this long. The President is not going to make a decision on this by simply receiving a request," he said.
"He wanted to thoroughly see what are the implications and what is the role that the Philippines will be playing, and I think that he's doing it very cautiously, and rightly so," he added.
The request
Through the Philippine Embassy in the US, Washington asked Manila last year to take in Afghan nationals in the Philippines while they are waiting for a Special Immigrant Visa to be issued by its embassy in the country. Romualdez expected a total of 50,000 Afghan nationals, which would only be composed of those who worked for the US government and their families, to be staying in the country by batches. But the envoy clarified that the expense as well as the personnel to accommodate them would be covered by the US government. "It's really they will be the one who will be doing all of this. We'll really just simply going to provide the area, which will be identified by both the Philippines and the US government as the area where they can process these Afghan citizens," Romualdez said.