The Philippine government said that it remains committed to open its doors and provide support and assistance to refugees and stateless persons, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.
DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla made the commitment as the government launched the country’s first National Refugee Day that will be celebrated nationwide on June 20.
Under Presidential Proclamation No. 265 issued in 2023, June 20 every year is declared National Refugee Day. The proclamation mandates all agencies of the government, state universities and colleges, local government units, non-government organizations and the private sector to participate in the celebration.
“The first National Refugee Day will highlight the country’s solemn commitment to accord humanitarian efforts, provide a protected and conducive environment for refugess, asylum seekers, stateless persons, stateless applications, and persons at risk of statelessness,” Remulla said, in his speech read for him by DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez.
“We Filipinos are renowned for our hospitality, and historically, we have extended this especially to vulnerable individuals in need of safety from war and persecution,” Remulla added.
Through the very first commemoration of National Refugee Day, Remulla said the Philippines sends a strong message of our commitment to our long humanitarian legacy of opening our doors and providing support to people who have crossed international borders to seek protection.
According to him, the government is “also aiming greater economic inclusion and better legal framerwork for refugees, stateless persons and other vulnerable grous by enacting more inclusive policies and laws.”
Chief State Counsel Dennus Arvin L. Chan, head of the DOJ’s Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit (RSPPU), noted that there are “more or less a thousand recognized refugees here in the Philippines” and “with about the same number of pending applications.”
Chan said these refugees are of diverse nationalities “but mostly coming from Middle East and African countries.”
“Due to confidentiality we cannot divulge their location because the reason why they are seeking asylum to the Philippines in the first place is because they are avoiding persecution from their home country,” he said.
As to the refugees who became Filipino citizens, Chan also noted that “there are less than 10 who have undergone naturalization.
Judge Maria Josefina G. San Juan-Torres of the Judiciary’s Special Committee on the Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Persons declined to provide the number of refugees seeking to become Filipinos due to the confidential nature of the cases.
In 2022, the Supreme Court (SC) approved the rule that would simplify, reduce legal and procedural hurdles, and facilitate the naturalization as Filipino citizens of refugees and stateless persons.
The rule “governs the procedure for the filing of petitions for naturalization by refugees and stateless persons recognized by the Philippine Government.”
The rule now allows electronic publication of the petition filed by refugees and stateless persons.
Section 12 of the rule states: “If the court is satisfied that the petition is sufficient in form and substance, it shall direct the clerk of court to cause the publication of the petition, excluding its annexes, for three (3) consecutive weeks in the Official Gazette or its website and in one (1) newspaper of general circulation or its website in the place where the petitioner resides, or the official website of the Supreme Court.”
The SC said the petition by publication “is with due regard to the special and vulnerable circumstances of refugees and stateless persons, such that the alternative modes of publication would reduce the necessary fees and be less burdensome for them.”
“The provision on electronic publication is a step towards the goal of the Supreme Court to have a technology-driven Judiciary that is capable of providing equal access to justice in real time,” the high tribunal stressed.
Also, the rule allows an unaccompanied child to file a petition for naturalization.
“A petition, in behalf of the unaccompanied child or a joint petition involving related unaccompanied children, may be filed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the appropriate Local Social Welfare and Development Office (LSWDO) where the unaccompanied child resides, or the child-caring agency having care and custody of the child,” the rule states.
The SC said the issuance the rule is the Philippines recognition of its commitments under international law, particularly the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
“The approval of the Rule is the Judiciary’s contribution to the fulfillment of the Philippines’ pledges during the Global Refugee Forum and High-Level Segment on Statelessness to enhance the policy, legal, and operational framework for refugees and stateless persons to ensure their full access to rights as guaranteed by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, including their facilitated naturalization and other rights as may be provided by national laws,” the SC pointed out.
