Malacañang on Tuesday criticized a Filipino couple for citing President Rodrigo Duterte as their reason in seeking political asylum in the United States, saying that the couple’s application was “highly doubtful” since they have been illegally overstaying in the country.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo claimed that the Flores couple’s attendance in political rallies and issuance of anti-Duterte statements while in the US are “more of a stratagem of their lawyer for them to stay permanently” and “to shield them from being deported.”
Rene and Joy Flores, who went to the United States in 2000 to visit their relatives, sought political asylum for fear of persecution from the government if they are sent back to the Philippines.
The couple asked the help of an immigration lawyer after US President Donald Trump’s tightened rules on undocumented immigrants. They later joined protests against President Duterte over alleged state-sponsored killings.
“Apparently, they have opted for an easy way out at the expense of the Duterte administration,” Panelo said.
“This circumstance alone casts doubt on the scheme employed by the Floreses,” he added.
On Dec. 3, San Francisco Immigration Judge Ila Deiss granted the couple a reprieve from their deportation.
“The ignorant granting of the judge of their application would therefore set a dangerous precedent to other illegal alliens who can abusively use politics as a scapegoat in violating immigration laws of the United States,” Panelo said.
Asylum is granted to individuals in the United States who are unable to return to their home country due to “well-founded fear of persecution” on the grounds of religion, race, and political stand.
Panelo also maintained that the administration does not resort to “any form of persecution and welcomes criticisms as long as they are based on facts and not on rumors or fake information.”
“No citizen of this country has been charged in court nor clamped in jail by reason of criticism against the policies of the present government,” he said.