Philippines to host ‘limited number’ of Afghans seeking US visas
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Manila said each candidate would first have to secure a Philippine visa and be medically screened in Afghanistan.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – A “limited number” of Afghans will temporarily stay in the Philippines while being processed for resettlement in the United States, Manila and Washington said on Aug 20.
The timeline for the programme is still being discussed by the two governments, with both saying only a “limited number” of visa applicants will be covered, without revealing exact figures.
The programme to process possibly thousands of Muslim asylum seekers met with domestic opposition on security and other grounds when broached to the Roman Catholic-majority Philippine public in 2023.
Mr Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the United States, said at the time that there were about 50,000 such visa seekers, including the families of those who had worked for the US-backed government that was toppled by the Taliban.
Under the deal, the applicants will stay at a facility operated by the US State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, an embassy spokesman told reporters.
A Philippine Foreign Department spokeswoman said each candidate would first have to secure a Philippine visa and be medically screened in Afghanistan.
She said the asylum seekers can stay in the country for no more than 59 days and will be “confined to their billet facility” except for their embassy consular interview.
Washington will support all “necessary services”, including those for food, housing, security, medical needs and transport during their stay in the Philippines.
Tens of thousands of Afghans fled their country
Many of those who had worked with the ousted Western-backed government arrived in the US seeking resettlement under a special immigrant visa programme, but thousands were also left behind or in third countries, waiting for their visas to be processed.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers insist no harm will come to anyone who collaborated with Western powers or the former government, and are encouraging those who have left to return and help rebuild the country. AFP
