Just
like his predecessor Commonwealth’s first Philippine President Manuel Quezon
who shared the view that the Philippines must do its share in saving the persecuted
Jews in Europe, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is opening the country’s borders
for the Rohingya refugees.
Duterte
reiterated his willingness to accept Rohingya refugees fleeing war and
persecution in Myanmar.
“Ako
(Me), I am prepared. I have communicated my desire na ‘yung mga Rohingya sa
Burma kung gusto nilang mag-migrate, tatanggapin ko sila (I am prepared. I
have communicated my desire that if the Rohingya refugees in Burma want to
migrate, I will accept them here),” Duterte said in a speech in Cotabato City.
 |
| Rohingya refugees experiencing genocide from the Myanmar authorities, inset is PH President Rodrigo Roa Duterte |
“Malaki
ang lupa natin, kawawa naman ‘yang mga tao doon, ‘yung mga Muslim na… (We
have big lands, the people there are pitiful, the Muslims..),” he added.
President
Duterte urged neighboring Association South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries
Malaysia and Indonesia to do the same.
“Maghati-hati
tayo (Let’s share among us): Malaysia,
Indonesia, Philippines. Ako (Me)
I’m ready to accept,” Duterte said.
The
President recalled how the province of Bataan and Palawan welcomed the
Vietnamese “boat people” fleeing the Vietnam war between 1975 and 1992.
“Nagtanggap
man tayo noon ng mga Vietnamese ‘di ba? Panahon ng Amerikano diyan sa Palawan (Didn’t
we accept Vietnamese in the past? During the American period there in
Palawan),” Duterte said.
Last
February, the President said he is willing
to accept Rohingya refugees in the country, believing that genocide is
apparently taking place against them in Myanmar.
Early
this year (February) the President has slammed the inaction of the United Nations
(UN) and the European Union (EU) in addressing their sad plight.
Rohingya,
often been described as "the world's most persecuted minority", are
an ethnic group, majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in
Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingyas in the Southeast
Asian country.
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Report from PNA
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