The Philippines said on Tuesday it has agreed to the U.S. government’s request to temporarily host “a limited number of Afghan nationals’’ fleeing Taliban rule.

They wait for their special immigrant visa to be processed for resettlement to the U.S.

Under the agreement, the U.S. would shoulder all expenses of the Afghan nationals, such as food, housing, security, medical and transportation.

This is according to Teresita Daza, spokeswoman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Each applicant shall be authorised to stay in the Philippines for no more than 59 days. All applicants will be subject to full security vetting by Philippine authorities and should secure an appropriate entry visa prior to arrival, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations,’’ Mr Daza said.

She added that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr would need to ratify the agreement before it becomes effective.

The department did not say how many Afghan nationals will be hosted in the Philippines. However, it was previously reported that the U.S. had requested its Southeast Asian ally to host at least 50,000 Afghans.

Philippine officials said the pilot phase would only involve 600 Afghans, mostly working for the U.S. government or deemed eligible for U.S. special immigrant visas.

But they were left behind when Washington withdrew from the country in 2021.

Philippine lawmakers had initially expressed concern about security and legal issues related to the request.

This includes fears that the Afghan nationals could be targets of terrorist attacks and uncertainty about what happens if their application is rejected. 

(dpa/NAN)