A “limited number” of Afghans will temporarily stay in the Philippines while being processed for resettlement in the United States, Manila and Washington said Tuesday.
The timeline for the programme is still being discussed by the two governments with both saying only a “limited number” of visa applicants will be covered, without revealing exact figures.
The programme to process possibly thousands of Muslim asylum seekers met with domestic opposition on security and other grounds when first broached to the Catholic-majority Philippine public last year.
Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippines ambassador to the United States, said at the time there were about 50,000 such visa-seekers, including the families of those who had worked for the US-backed government that was toppled by the Taliban.
Under the deal, the applicants will stay at a facility operated by the US State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, an embassy spokesman told reporters.
