The Philippines is welcome to asylum seekers, Malacañang said Tuesday as reports of frantic attempts to escape Taliban rule in Afghanistan gripped the world.
Panicked families with frightened children in tow and laden with luggage were trying to escape the resurgent Taliban that returned to power two decades after they were ousted by the U.S.
Manila has a long history of accepting refugees dating as far back as World War II, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
"Welcome po ang mga asylum seekers sa Pilipinas," he said in a Palace press briefing.
"Lahat po ng nangangailangan ng kalinga dahil sila ay pine-persecute sa kanilang bayan, mayroon po kayong lugar sa Pilipinas," he said.
The Philippines is a State Party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was arranging for the repatriation of some 100 Filipinos in Afghanistan.
The Taliban held control of all ground routes in Afghanistan with the exemption of the Kabul airport following their dramatic advances across the country during the past week, which climaxed on Sunday when the insurgents streamed triumphantly into the capital.
-with reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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