Enrile: Nothing wrong with taking in Afghans

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile sees nothing wrong with the Philippines temporarily hosting refugees from Afghanistan, saying the former has a history of providing shelter for forcibly displaced individuals.

In his weekly television program, Enrile, who served as justice secretary and defense chief during the term of President Marcos’ late father and namesake, cited the case of Russian and Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines.

“It’s up to our government. I’m sure (people) will be talking about (issues on Afghan refugees). My personal position is I agree because it is temporary, not permanent residents,” Enrile said in Filipino and English when asked by a co-anchor about the United States’ request for the Philippines to provide temporary refuge for the displaced Afghans.

“It’s possible. Why not? They are not permanent residents,” he added.

The former Senate president said the US has a program to “distribute” refugees all over the world, adding that the Philippines would just serve as a “transit” to refugees being resettled.

“(Refugees) will only be transited because the ultimate destination is other countries,” Enrile pointed out.

“During the Second World War, we had Vietnamese people here, Russian refugees… During the Vietnam War, we also had temporary residents who were Vietnamese. I know in Palawan there was a refugee camp (for the Vietnamese) before. There were many refugees from Europe during the First World War,” he said.

Asked about concerns on the possible use of the government’s resources for the refugees’ food, Enrile replied that the United Nations’ relief agency would be the one providing them food.

“There will be food supplies from the UN. The UN’s relief organization, that’s for all humanity,” he said.

Malacañang on Friday said the US government’s request to temporarily accept refugees fleeing from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is still “under evaluation.”

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez earlier said the request was made in October last year for Afghans and their families who formerly worked for the US government as they wait for the processing of their special immigration visas.

Marcos’ sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on foreign relations, on Friday conducted the first hearing on the matter as senators and Cabinet members have pointed out possible legal and security risk issues in the US government’s request.

‘Think twice’

Former president Rodrigo Duterte has advised President Marcos to think twice about heeding the US request for the Philippines to take in their supporters in Afghanistan.

“I would rather not accept if it is a demand. You know, these Americans, if that happened during my incumbency, I would throw bullsh*t at them. You would demand from me? Who are you?” Duterte said in English and Filipino.

“In the meantime, I think the Philippines should not give in. I would like to say this to the President, to take his time. But I would rather not accept if it is a demand,” he added.

The former chief executive likewise underscored the need for the government to implement tighter measures to ensure that terrorists will not slip into the country.

Romualdez stressed that those who will be taken in are actually not refugees, but rather former Afghan employees of the American government in Afghanistan and their families whose lives are in danger and are to be given special immigration visa.

The ambassador said the US request is to have a processing center in the Philippines, which is still being reviewed and studied by the government.

He added that all are destined to proceed to the US after processing.

It can be noted, however, that neighboring countries have also rejected earlier requests for the Afghanistan refugees to be taken in.

Unintentional discrimination

Meanwhile, two senators yesterday cautioned the public about unintentionally discriminating against the Afghan nationals that the US wants to temporarily house in the Philippines.

In interviews with dwIZ radio yesterday, Senators Francis Tolentino and Sherwin Gatchalian asked to slow down judgements on the 50,000 Afghan nationals that Americans want the Philippines to host during their special immigration visa applications, in their bid to flee persecution since the Talibans seized power in August 2021.

They were reacting to security concerns raised during the Senate foreign relations committee hearing last Friday presided over by Sen. Marcos, who first blew the lid off the US request for the Philippines to become a temporary visa processing site.

Among the officials invited was Education Undersecretary Michael Poa, who spoke on behalf of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte about her “vehement objection” to the plan.

Duterte, an ally of the President’s senator-sister, said the US request infringes on the country’s sovereignty because the vetting process on the Afghans will be done by the US government.

“On legal grounds, this delves into issues of sovereignty. The exercise of its function as a state must be exclusive from intervention, interference from other states,” Poa said during Friday’s hearing about the Vice President’s position.

“In the proposal, it seems that the vetting process will be done by the US – and therefore, this is an interference into our exclusive determination as to who can enter our country,” he added.

Security officials, such as National Bureau of Investigation deputy director for operations Jose Justo Yap and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency director general Lt. Gen. Ricardo De Leon, warned that inactive terrorist groups may stage attacks over the Afghans’ presence if they are Taliban sympathizers or Islamic State (IS)-inspired groups.

For Gatchalian, however, the public should not be “judgmental” about the persecuted Afghan nationals, who only want a temporary home in the Philippines.

“It is not proper to judge them immediately as terrorists. Being judgmental is not the proper attitude for a Filipino,” the senator said.

He called for prudence and said the Afghans should be accepted in the country for “humanitarian considerations” instead of being branded as possible “suicide bombers.”

“Why are we stereotyping the Afghans? Not all Afghans are suicide bombers or terrorists,” Tolentino said, describing the Afghan nationals who worked for the US government as “educated teachers and translators who are being persecuted by the Talibans.”

The vice chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee also cited the country’s international obligations to accept refugees, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“As a Catholic, I don’t see anything wrong with extending help to oppressed people like them,” he said.

As to Sen. Marcos’ claim that the status of the Afghan nationals are now put to question because they are technically not refugees but US government employees, Tolentino countered that they are refugees because they want to flee persecution in their homeland.

“With all due respect to Sen. Marcos, we shouldn’t be talking about their status. The mere fact that they are being persecuted in their country and that they can no longer return after they leave makes them a refugee. You don’t have to be a refugee at the start to be considered a refugee,” Tolentino said.

In the past, the Philippines had accepted refugees displaced by war and conflict, according to the senator, as he cited the Jews who fled Nazi persecution and were accepted to the country due to the “open-door policy” of the late former president Manuel L. Quezon; the Vietnamese “boat people” who fled the communists during the regime of Marcos Sr. and the Rohingyas who escaped alleged genocide in Myanmar during the Duterte administration.

“We have done this before, this is part of our chapter in history. We should do it again and accept them,” Tolentino said.

In an ambush interview after last Friday’s hearing, Marcos denied she was discriminating against the Afghans, although she warned that they may be targets in the country by sympathizers of Taliban, IS-inspired groups and the Al-Qaeda.

“The Philippines will always have an open door, even open arms to refugees who are displaced all over the world. But what is clear here is that these Afghan nationals are not refugees,” she said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo maintained that there is nothing final yet about the plan, and that it is a request by the US as the Philippines’ trading partner and ally. — Edith Regalado, Marc Jayson Cayabyab