Philippines: We have not made any agreement with America to host Afghan immigrants

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the president of the Philippines, says that so far no official agreement has been reached with the American government regarding the country's temporary hosting of Afghan immigrants who want to be transferred to the United States. The government of the Philippines is supposed to host thousands of Afghan citizens whose immigration cases are being reviewed in the United States. However, opposition to the temporary Afghan residency in the Marcos Jr. administration has increased, and the possibility that such an agreement will never happen has strengthened.
 
"I was really surprised when I saw some news reports that said there was an agreement between the United States and the Philippines," the Philippine president said. We are still working out how to make it work if we can. We will find a way to make it happen."
 
According to Turkey's Anatolia news agency, the United States government has asked the Philippines government to temporarily accept a number of Afghan citizens whose asylum applications have been submitted to the United States.
 
Marcus Jr. says there are security considerations and concerns surrounding this position. "This is a completely different issue that we haven't faced before," he says. The government will continue to consider the American proposal, and if the country's security is not jeopardized, they can do it."
 
Washington first requested Manila last October to host Afghan nationals while processing special immigration visas for them and their families. These Afghan citizens used to work for the US government. The United States has also proposed that Afghan nationals be resettled in the Philippines in groups of 1,000 to 1,500.
 
However, opposition to the temporary settlement of Afghans in the Philippines has risen even within the country's government. For the first time, Amy Marcos, the sister of the President of the Philippines and a member of the Senate, opposed the presence of Afghan nationals. He cited possible terrorist threats against the Philippines as the reason for his opposition. He said that our arms will always be open to immigrants, as it has been in the past, but these Afghans are not immigrants, but people whose residence files are being completed in America, and with the completion of these files, they will go to America.
 
  After that, Sara Duterte, the vice president of the Philippines, also opposed the settlement plan of 50,000 Afghan refugees. He cited security issues as the reason for his opposition. In addition to the sister and vice president, a number of Filipino politicians have also opposed the presence of Afghans.
 
The Philippines has been fighting extremist terrorist organizations for years. These organizations were affiliated with al-Qaeda in the past, but now they have become members of ISIS.