President ready to accept, naturalize Rohingya refugees

President Duterte said he was willing to help the Rohingya Muslims by accepting refugees and slammed the supposed inaction of other international bodies regarding the plight of the ethnic group.

In a speech at the Manila Hotel on Tuesday, the President said that he would never recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it was not a body created by the United Nations (UN) but only by the European Union (EU).

Duterte slammed the Europeans for meddling in the affairs of the country but are doing nothing to address the plight of the Rohingya Muslims.

"Itong mga u*** na European na ito, sobra ka bright makialam pa sa atin. Kakarami ng problema pinapaputok sila doon. Hindi nga nila matulungan ‘yung mga Muslim --- ‘yung refugees ‘yan nangamatay na (These Europeans think they are so bright that they are meddling in our affairs. There are grave problems out there. They couldn't even help the refugees who are dying)," he said.

According to Duterte, the Philippines is willing and ready to accept Rohingya Muslims who really have nowhere else to go. He said he will also give them Filipino citizenship.

"I am willing to accept Rohingyas. ‘Yung talagang walang mapuntahan tatanggapin ko ‘yan, gawain kong Pilipino (Those who really have nowhere else to go, I will make them Filipinos). I am ready to accept refugees, ‘yung sa Rohingyas (the Rohingyas)," he said.

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape a brutal military crackdown.

In November last year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to be active in the humanitarian aspect in the Rakhine State.

"We will do our best to come in, we have to be active in the humanitarian aspect. I mean, physical presence, and not just going in and visiting but being there. I believe there’s an organization for that and that’s our commitment. That was welcomed by State Chancellor," Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.

In the ASEAN Chairman's Statement, the 10 Southeast Asian leaders stressed the need to find a comprehensive and durable solution to address the root and causes of the conflict, and to create a conducive environment so that the affected communities can rebuild their lives.

The Southeast Asian leaders also said that they are looking forward to the full implementation of the MOU signed among Myanmar, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to facilitate the repatriation process of displaced persons from Rakhine State.

Aung San Suu Kyi is in the center of criticism due to her supposed inaction to the massive crackdown on Rohingya Muslims who are treated by Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The Philippines has already expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in the Rakhine State. However, the government opted to oppose the United Nations draft which sought to resolve the crisis.

In a speech in New Delhi in in January last year, Duterte said that if there is one thing that he can advise Aung San Suu Kyi, it is for her to ignore all criticisms about human rights and focus on doing her job.

According to Duterte, he told the Burmese leader not to worry about the criticism of human rights advocates about how Myanmar handles the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. It was not specified, however, when he told the Nobel Prize winner this.