Imee seeks Senate probe on US 'request' for PH to house Afghans

Senator Imee Marcos is seeking a Senate inquiry into the supposed request by the United States for the Philippine government to allow the admission and temporary housing of foreign nationals from Afghanistan.

In filing Senate Resolution 651, Marcos mentioned a letter dated June 5, 2023 by the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) where various government agencies were required to attend a “Technical Coordination Meeting” on the proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of Special Immigrant Visa applicants from Afghanistan.

Marcos said the letter did not contain other important details, only the general topic and the time and place of the meeting.

She then cited information from sources claiming that prior to sending the letter, the US “had made a request” for the Philippine government to allow the admission and temporary housing of the Afghans.

“These foreign nationals, who are allegedly US supporters, will be transported directly into the country from Afghanistan,” Marcos said in her resolution.

GMA News Online has reached out to Malacañang and the PMS for their comment on Marcos' resolution, but they have yet to give one as of posting time.

The US Embassy, meanwhile, referred GMA News Online to the Philippine government for further comment.

"We greatly value our alliance with the Philippines. We are aware of the draft resolution in the Philippines Senate to 'conduct an inquiry... into the proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of SIV applicants from Afghanistan,'" US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.

"We regularly talk to our partners on issues of local, regional, and global importance. The Biden administration remains committed to the thousands of brave Afghans who stood side-by-side with the United States over the course of the past two decades," the statement read.

"We do not comment on ongoing diplomatic discussions. We refer you to the Government of the Philippines for further comment," Gangopadhyay added.

Meeting

According to Marcos, during the meeting held on June 07, 2023, representatives of government agencies raised various concerns, and some officials present “were surprised that they were not given sufficient information beforehand on the matters that were eventually discussed therein and that their respective government agencies were not even asked to file their comments before the meeting.”

Although the meeting had already been conducted and a memorandum of agreement is allegedly being finalized, Marcos said the PMS has yet to disclose to the public the US request and the course of action that the Executive Department will take.

She also questioned why the US opted to house the Afghans in another country and not in their own country even though these individuals are “supporters of the US and possibly, even former employees of the US government or US companies.”

The senator said this casts doubts on the character and background of some of these foreigners.

“There is a substantial risk that individuals who pose a threat to national security and public safety may be admitted into and housed in the country,” Marcos said.

Although she noted that the previous administration had the policy to accept refugees from Afghanistan, Marcos pointed out that the government back then “sufficiently disclosed” its actions relative to such policy. —KBK/KG, GMA Integrated News