Sara Duterte Opposes US Request to Host Afghan Refugees in the Philippines

Vice President Sara Duterte has expressed her strong opposition to a U.S. request to temporarily host 50,000 Afghans in the Philippines before they are relocated to the United States, citing concerns over security risks and the potential violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Duterte, who also serves as the Secretary of Education, communicated her stance in an April 20 letter to the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), as reported by Education Undersecretary Michael Wesley Poa during a Senate inquiry into the matter.

The U.S. request was brought to light last week by Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations, who initiated a resolution to investigate the proposal.

Poa noted that Duterte expressed “strong objection and opposition” to the plan, raising concerns that students and the general public could be at risk if local terrorist groups aligned with the Taliban were to target the Afghan refugees.

“We believe this plan could further destabilize the already precarious situation concerning local terrorist groups in certain regions of the country,” Poa added.

In addition to security threats, Duterte cited issues of sovereignty, emphasizing that allowing the U.S. to vet Afghans arriving from Kabul would interfere with the Philippines’ authority to control who enters and stays in the country.

“In the proposal, it appears that the vetting process would be conducted by the United States. This constitutes interference with our sovereign right to determine who may enter our country,” Poa explained.

Senator Marcos also questioned the wisdom of accommodating Afghan refugees while thousands of Filipinos displaced by the 2017 Marawi siege remain without permanent housing. She argued that the proposal seems unreasonable, given the strain it could place on the country’s already burdened resources.