IMEE: AFGHAN REFUGEES OR AMERICAN SPIES?

Senator Imee Marcos has urged newly appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to shed light on a request by the United States to grant some Afghans special immigrant status in the Philippines.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, asked why the U.S. government wanted to house Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan.

In Senate Resolution 651, filed Thursday, she called for an inquiry into the real intention behind the U.S. request since no data have been made public on the said Afghans' status as legitimate refugees or employees of the U.S. government or American companies.

"During the past year, security and espionage threats have substantially increased because of the sharp escalation in tension between rival superpowers," Marcos said.

The Presidential Management Staff (PMS) held a "Technical Coordination Meeting" with other government agencies on Wednesday to take up the "proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of Special Immigrant Visa applicants from Afghanistan."

However, the government agencies called to attend could not thoroughly discuss the matter because the PMS did not provide details about the meeting other than its general topic, date, and venue.

Sources privy to the meeting told Marcos that a memorandum of agreement was already in the works.

"There's a lack of transparency in the present case," Marcos said, comparing the previous administration's policy of accepting Afghan refugees when the Taliban took over their homeland in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops.

The Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 states that the admission of refugees for religious, political, or racial reasons should serve a humanitarian purpose and not be opposed to the public interest.

"We need to know the real nature of the agreement between the Philippines and the United States and the course of action the executive branch plans to take," Marcos concluded.

IMEE: AFGHAN REFUGEES O AMERICAN SPIES?

Hinimok ni Senador Imee Marcos ang bagong hinirang na Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro at National Security Adviser Eduardo Año na bigyang linaw ang kahilingan ng United States na bigyan ang ilang Afghans ng special immigrant status sa Pilipinas.

Kwestyon ni Marcos, na namumuno sa Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, kung bakit gusto ng gobyerno ng US na kanlungin ang mga Afghan sa Pilipinas sa halip na ang American mainland o mga bansang mas malapit sa Afghanistan.

Sa Senate Resolution 651, na inihain noong Huwebes, nanawagan siya na busisiin ang tunay na intensyon ng U.S. dahil walang datos na isinasapubliko sa status ng nasabing mga Afghan bilang mga lehitimong refugee o empleyado ng gobyerno ng U.S. o mga kumpanyang Amerikano.

"Sa nakalipas na taon, ang mga banta sa seguridad at espiya ay tumaas nang malaki dahil sa matinding paglala ng tensyon sa pagitan ng magkatunggaling superpower," sabi ni Marcos.

Una nang nagsagawa ng "Technical Coordination Meeting" ang Presidential Management Staff (PMS) kasama ang iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno noong Miyerkules para kunin ang "proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of Special Immigrant Visa applicants from Afghanistan."

Gayunman, ang mga ahensya ng gobyerno na tinawag para dumalo ay hindi nagbigyan ng PMS ng mga detalye tungkol sa pulong maliban sa pangkalahatang paksa, petsa, at lugar nito.

Sa impormasyong nakarating kay Marcos, ginagawa na ang isang memorandum ng kasunduan hinggil dito.

"May kakulangan ng transparency sa kasalukuyang kaso," sabi ni Marcos, na inihambing ang patakaran ng nakaraang administrasyon sa pagtanggap ng mga Afghan refugee nang sakupin ng Taliban ang kanilang tinubuang-bayan noong Agosto 2021 kasunod ng pag-alis ng mga tropang Amerikano.

Isinasaad ng Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 na ang pagtanggap ng mga refugee para sa mga kadahilanang panrelihiyon, pampulitika, o lahi ay dapat magsilbi sa isang layuning humanitarian at hindi salungat sa interes ng publiko.

"Kailangan nating malaman ang pakay ng kasunduan sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Estados Unidos at ang aksyon na plano ng executive branch," diin ni Marcos.