Philippine Foreign Minister, Enrique Manalo, has said that negotiations are underway with the US government to temporarily host Afghan nationals and their dependents in the Philippines.
Kabul24: According to Benar News,, thousands of people who are waiting to be resettled in the US under the Special Immigration Visas (SIV) will be staying in the Philippines while their applications are processed.
Manalo said that President Biden raised the issue of transferring SIV applicants to the Philippines during his meeting with Marcos in Washington in May.
“Biden briefly raised the issue with President Marcos during his visit last in May,” Manalo said, adding that Washington had also formally sent the government a letter about its request.
According to reports, if an agreement is reached, Afghan nationals holding SIVs would be temporarily accommodated in the Philippines and eventually resettled to the United States, with Washington covering all accommodation expenses.
Philippine and US officials have not publicly announced the number of eligible applicants who could be sent to the Philippines through a potential SIV agreement.
The Philippines Ministry of Foreign Affairs has insisted that the arrangement is “humanitarian in nature and that it will not involve the admission or hosting of Afghanistan refugees.”
The Philippines Foreign Ministry further clarified that talks are still “ongoing” and that “nothing is final” as they are trying to assess the possibility and implications of the US government’s proposal.
The US claims to have evacuated at least 120,000 from Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
