PH ‘receiving’ refugees from Ukraine – Locsin
THE Philippines is now “receiving” refugees from Ukraine, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has said.
Locsin revealed this in a video message through Zoom on the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Romania.
The event was organized by the Romanian Embassy in Manila and the University of the Philippines.
Locsin said the Philippines “is deeply grateful to Romania for opening its borders to refugees fleeing the Russian aggression against brave Ukraine.”
“We are now receiving them,” said Locsin without elaborating.
Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times’ daily newsletters
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has yet to confirm whether Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the Philippines.
Asked for more details on the status of supposed Ukraine refugees, DFA Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez said, “The matter of refugee applications is under DoJ (Department of Justice)”.
“What the DFA did was to allow Ukrainians to enter using tourist visas, and once in the Philippines they apply for refugee status. I do not have the numbers who availed of this so far,” Meñez told The Manila Times.
Pressed when the first batch of Ukrainian tourists arrived in the Philippines, Meñez said, “I don’t think there are many Ukrainians who have chosen to come here yet, but the first ones were probably the family members of Filipinos repatriated”.
Asked whether he was referring to Ukrainians married to Filipinos, Meñez said, “Yes. I would suggest asking DoJ for the numbers [who had applied for refugee status].”
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, at the end of World War 1, about 800 “White Russians” came to the Philippines fleeing persecution from “Red Russians” or supporters of the Socialist Revolution of 1917.
The Philippines in 1939 opened its doors to 1,200 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism. About 2,000 Vietnamese fleeing the Vietnam War were granted asylum in the Philippines in 1975.
On Sept. 9, 2021, Locsin turned to Twitter to say that the Philippines had welcomed the arrival of some Afghan refugees who fled their country after it fell into the hands of Taliban fighters.
However, the DFA declined to provide additional details on the number of Afghan refugees who arrived.