Last of Vietnamese ‘boat people’ to leave for US

The last batch of Vietnamese "boat people" will leave the Philippines shortly to be resettled in the United States, the International Organization for Migration said yesterday.

The 1,600 are the last from a group of migrants who fled their country 16 years ago, long after the end of the Vietnam War, and have been stranded here since.

They have been originally denied refugee status by the United States, which deemed them to be economic refugees rather than fleeing political persecution.

Of the stateless Vietnamese refugees, 229 would fly from Manila to Los Angeles on Monday, followed by the rest of the refugees over the next six months, the IOM said.

The Manila International Airport Authority said it is putting up five counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to accommodate the 229 refugees who would board an American Trans Asia chartered flight.

Judith Geronga-Dolot, MIAA public affairs head, said the MIAA has decided to waive the P550 terminal fee for the departing refugees.

The refugees, many of whom have relatives in the United States, were expected to be approved for resettlement by US immigration under an agreement reached with the Philippine government in April 2004 over some 2,000 Vietnamese still here, the IOM said.

However, those with Filipino spouses and children were excluded from the plan, the statement added.

The IOM would coordinate medical screening, administrative support and travel assistance for the refugees who would be resettled all over the United States. — AFP, Rainier Allan Ronda and Marvin Sy