Allowing the temporary entry of refugees is something that the Philippines has done even during the Second World War, Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero said on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
This is in reaction to the Philippine and the United States government's agreement to allow the entry of a limited number of Afghan nationals into the Philippines to process their US visas.
"Kung maalala mo nung panahon ng World War 2, nangyari at ginawa rin yan ng ating bansa patungkol sa hudyo na pinayagan silang manatili until matapos yung kaguluhan (If you can remember during World War 2, this happened and was facilitated by our country when we allowed the entry of Jews to stay until the conflict subsided)," he said.
"Kaya yan ang isang rason kung bakit maliban sa ASEAN countries, Israel ang isa sa mga bansa sa mundo na hindi kailangan ng visa Filipino dahil sa ginawang humanitarian aid na yan ng Pilipinas sa mga hudyo nung mga panahon na yun (That's one of the reasons why aside from ASEAN countries, Israel is one of the countries in the world Filipinos are not required to get visas because of the humanitarian aid the Philippines provided for Jews during that time)," he added.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine and US governments agreed on allowing Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines "to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States."
With security risks and concerns, Escudero said that as far as he knows, the refugees are those who helped the US in their fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. He also stated that it's the US who promised to bring the Afghan nationals to their country, not the Philippines.
About the details, Escudero said that they're not privy to it since it's merely an executive agreement that is only temporary and not like a treaty that passes through the Senate.
Nevertheless, he said they will use the upcoming deliberations on the DFA's proposed budget as an opportunity to ask for further details to let the public know.
Ma. Teresita Daza, the spokesperson for the DFA, said that such an agreement will have to be ratified by President Marcos before it becomes effective.
Under the agreement, each Afghan SIV applicant shall be authorized to stay in the Philippines for not more than 59 days.