Palace to prioritize Pinoys at home

While the Philippines remains fully committed to its UN obligations, the welfare of Filipinos at home in dire need of help should come first before taking in refugees from far away Syria, Malacañang said yesterday.

“We just want to make sure that we can manage it properly, that we don’t take on more than what we can handle. (The) vast majority of our people are still living in poverty,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. quoted President Aquino as saying.

“We would like to deploy or use our resources to better the lives of our people and do our fair share,” Coloma said.

Coloma stressed Manila will always comply with its commitment under the UN Convention on Refugees, but the government has to strike a balance between helping its own people and helping others to the detriment of its own citizens.

Coloma cited the cases of the thousands of victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda, where massive rehabilitation and reconstruction are still ongoing in Tacloban, as well as the October 2013 earthquake in Bohol and the threeweek long siege in Zamboanga City in September 2013.

The government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, earlier expressed willingness to take in Syrian refugees in response to the recent and latest humanitarian crisis in Europe.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the Philippines could be a temporary destination as refugees await acceptance from a host country for resettlement.

Jose said the Philippines needs to assess its resources and capabilities before it can decide to take in people escaping from wartorn nations.

“While we will abide by our commitments as a signatory to the UN Convention on refugees, we should also take into account our own resources and capabilities, considering we are still in the rehabilitation stage from the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda,” Jose said.