I fully support the stance taken by our feisty Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on the request made by the US government to bring into the Philippines 50,000 Afghans who are fleeing their Taliban-led country prior to their relocation to the United States.
The said Afghans would be staying in the country while the approval of their special immigration visas is being processed so they can be flown to the US. In short, our country will be serving as a transit and processing point.
VP Sara has openly and even vehemently opposed the idea, citing not only possible security threats but also violations of the country’s sovereignty.
In a letter dated April 20, 2023 and sent to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), VP Sara made her stance known and this was bared by Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa during the Senate inquiry into the matter.
The inquiry by the way, stemmed from a resolution filed by Presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations.
On the other hand, VP Sara’s opposition came after the ATC itself asked her to comment on the said US request.
I can see clearly why VP Sara is against the idea of accommodating the said Afghans.
Among the reasons are the position paper submitted to the Senate by no less than the National Bureau of Investigation. In it, the bureau raised the possibility that “sleeper cells” of terror groups and Taliban sympathizers in the country would target the Afghans while they are here.
“They (Talibans) may have sympathizers from the southern Philippines (among) our Muslim brothers. That’s a possibility,” were the words of NBI Deputy Director Jose Justo Yap.
In addition to this, Ricardo de Leon, the director-general of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, had said that terrorists may use as a propaganda or justification to carry out attacks. the presence in the country of Afghans who are supporters of Americans.
De Leon further said: “We also express the same anxiety because some terrorists (will be) given the opportunity to travel and that is a problem of records checking. It will pose some security concerns later on.”
The Vice President was also said to be particularly concerned about letting the US vet Afghans who would be flying in from Kabul, citing that the Philippine government had the sole right to determine who could or could not enter the country.
“In the proposal, it seems that the vetting process will be done by the (United States). Therefore, this is an interference into our exclusive determination as to who can enter our country,” Poa had told the Senate inquiry, again citing worries by the VP.
On my part, we should listen to our very own authorities. This is not our war and there is indeed a need to lay everything down the table. The contents of the proposal should be revealed fully for all Filipinos to see.
Why do we always have to be dragged into wars that are not of our own making? What do we get out of it?
There was a time that our country accommodated Vietnam refugees and what happened is that the Viets got all the support from the US while the Philippines got left behind. Look at Vietnam now compared to our country.
If only for this, I am all for VP Sara. Our country is always taken advantage of but when it comes to benefits, we lag.
Again, the bottomline is: what do we get out of allowing our country to be the ‘processing center for the Afghan refugees??? Unless and until this is answered satisfactorily, we need not get involved in anything that might compromise the safety of our citizens and athe country in general.
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