FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Monday Myanmar had called on the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations for humanitarian assistance and that Philippines was ready to send help following the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Although the Asean leaders failed to address the human rights violation in Rakhine state, Cayetano said that, through Senator Richard
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Gordon, who is now collaborating with the International Red Cross, would be sending help to Myanmar.
“What was very productive about this year’s meeting was Myanmar’s statement that they need help,” Cayetano told the reporters.
He made his statement even as Myanmar said it had agreed to repatriate thousands of stranded Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
“Asean has expressed concern for the Rohingya people,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told reporters at the sidelines of the 31st Asean meetings.
“Myanmar responded by saying that the repatriation of the IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] will begin in three weeks after Myanmar signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh.”
Cayetano said the Asean had long been pursuing its a approach of “not judging” Myanmar but offering help to its member-state.
“That’s always our ultimate approach, not to judge but to offer help and to see how we can make the whole region a region of peace and stability, a region where human rights is respected,” Cayetano said.
He said the Philippines had already donated to Myanmar during President Rodrigo Duterte’s official visit to Nay Pyi Taw in March.
And then they sent additional humanitarian aid on Oct. 14 under the Asean Humanitarian Assistance Center, which was launched in February 2016.
“So that was all the efforts of the Asean,” he Cayetano said.
He also said Duterte had told him he was ready to donate medical supplies and deploy Filipino doctors if Myanmar needed those.
“He is willing to put something together. But it [the request] really has to come from them,” Cayetano said.
Based on the draft Asean statement, the 10-member bloc failed to mention the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The draft communique only mentioned the importance of humanitarian relief provided for victims of natural disasters in Vietnam, the recent siege by the Maute Goup in Marawi City, and the “affected communities” in northern Rakhine state.
The eight-page draft was crafted by the Philippines, this year’s chairman of the 31st Asean Summit, and the nine other member states that met in plenary in Manila on Sunday.
