CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 17 April)— A Mindanawon lawmaker has offered Palestinian refugees from Gaza stranded in Manila to settle in Lanao del Sur and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Rep. Zia Adiong Alonto (1st Dist., Lanao del Sur). MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Rep. Zia Adiong Alonto (1st Dist., Lanao del Sur) said there are 21 Palestinian men married to Filipinas, along with 23 children, temporarily living in Manila where they sought refuge when the war with Israel erupted in October 2023.
Adiong said the Palestinians would face deportation by end of April if the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) decide on the official status of these people.
He said that without an official status from the Philippine government, the refugees cannot find temporary jobs and would rely on donations from well-meaning groups.
“I am going to the DOJ and DFA next week to check about the status of these people,” he told reporters at the sidelines at the Okir Art Festival here on Tuesday.
Adiong said he would invite these Palestinian families to resettle in Lanao del Sur or anywhere in the BARMM once the DFA or DOJ decide on their official status.
“Some are even doctors and engineers. They can contribute their knowledge to the development of Lanao del Sur and BARMM,” Alonto said.
He said Marawi residents who suffered the same fate during the 2017 siege will not mind at all of the presence of the Palestinian refugees.
Musa Sanguila, chair of the non-government organization Pakigdait, said Muslims in the Philippines are obliged to help fellow Muslims in dire need.
“They are welcome in Lanao del Sur and BARM just like Philippine government welcomed the Vietnamese refugees at the end of Vietnam War and Israeli people who fled Europe before World War II,” Sanguila said.
The Palestinian refugees have temporarily resettled in a rental housing outside Manila living in limbo with the help of donors. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
