MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Senator Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, asked why the U.S. government wanted to house Afghans in the Philippines instead of the American mainland or countries closer to Afghanistan. 

In Senate Resolution 651, filed Thursday, she called for an inquiry into the real intention behind the U.S. request since no data have been made public on the said Afghans’ status as legitimate refugees or employees of the U.S. government or American companies.

Is the U.S. request a precursor to the further expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperative Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and America?

Will EDCA evolve into an Enhanced Displacement of Citizens of Afghanistan, using the Philippines as dumping ground for U.S.-produced refugees?

Or is the U.S. simply moving Afghan refugees from one war zone to another (from Afghanistan to Maria’s war zone, the Philippines)?