Rohingya refugees arrive in Manila – DFA

MANILA, Philippines — The first batch of refugee-beneficiaries of the Philippines’ Complementary Pathways (CPath) program for Rohingyas arrived in Manila on Tuesday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the beneficiaries arrived in time for the start of the school year.

Under the CPath program, refugee-beneficiaries are provided tertiary education training in the Philippines as well as protection services.

The Rohingyas have faced decades of discrimination and repression under successive Myanmar governments. Effectively denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, they are one of the largest stateless populations in the world.

DFA Assistant Secretary for the Office of the United Nations and International Organizations Kira Christianne Azucena welcomed the beneficiaries, saying their arrival marked another milestone in the country’s long tradition of extending assistance to refugees and stateless persons.

Azucena thanked the Inter-Agency Committee led by the Department of Justice Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit (DOJ-RSPPU) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for their hard work, which resulted in the realization of the CPath program for the Rohingya refugees.

The program was launched in 2020 following former president Rodrigo Duterte’s emphasis at the 75th UN General Assembly in September 2020 on assisting those who are fleeing for safety and the shared responsibility of all countries to help those displaced by conflict and the persecuted.

Chief State Counsel George Ortha, who heads the DOJ-RSPPU, highlighted the strong humanitarian spirit of the Philippine government and the Filipino people that drove the crafting of the program.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Philippines’ Iya Valdeavilla-Gallardo welcomed the Rohingya students.

Representatives from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and partner institutions were also present during the arrival ceremony.

In 2019, the Philippines offered to take in as many as 750,000 Rohingyas as refugees without conditions. Then foreign affairs secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the solution he raised on the Rakhine issue during the ASEAN meeting to take in Rohingya as refugees was only laughed at.

He said only the Philippines was ready to open its doors to the Rohingyas.

During the United Nations Human Rights Council 72nd session of the executive committee of the High Commissioner’s Program last year, the Philippines said its humanitarian policies were among the most progressive in Asian countries.

The Philippines highlighted the country’s resolve to extend assistance to refugees during public health emergencies.