Philippine gov't denies move to push "boat people" back to sea

The Philippine government remains committed in helping address the plight of runaway Asian migrants, known as "boat people," in accordance with its commitment to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a senior government official said Monday.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. issued the statement in response to an article that came out in local broadsheet, saying the Philippines will deny the entry of these "boat people" into the mainland owing to their lack of pertinent travel documents.

"The Philippines, as a state party to relevant instruments, such as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, concretely manifested its solidarity with the United Nations in providing succor and relief to persons involuntarily displaced from their homelands as a consequence of political conflict," he said in a statement.

Coloma noted that the Philippines has extended humanitarian assistance to the boat people and had established a processing center for Vietnamese travelers forty years ago.

"We shall continue to do our share in saving lives under existing and long-standing mechanisms pursuant to our commitments under the Convention," he added. Endi