Filipino refugees are persons originating from the country of the Philippines. Following the Moro conflict and subsequent major military operation in the islands of Mindanao during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1970s, thousands of Filipinos mainly from the Moro ancestry have sought refuge in neighbouring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, with majority of them mostly heading to the state of Sabah in Malaysia.
Reasons for fleeing
Despite the uncertain conflict that happened in the southern Philippines, many of the Filipinos decision to flee are also driven by economic factors and hope for a better lives with many are reluctant to return to their homeland that continues to be torn by violence and kidnappings.
Host countries
Malaysia
Since the 1970s, thousands of Filipino refugees have emigrated to the state of Sabah, forcing the need for maintenance of the refugees. As Malaysia are not the signatory of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the country have maintained that any newly arrived aliens are illegal immigrants rather than refugees. Although unlike the economically motivated illegal immigrants, the Filipino refugees have long been granted special permission to stay despite limited access to the state employment, social services and public amenities.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) establish its office in the state in 1977 with around $2.7 million have been allocated for the maintenance of the refugees children education, with most of it been allocated to the Sandakan area. Despite this however, the Philippines side constantly accused the Malaysian side especially the Sabah authorities for victimising the refugees with the dismissal of their workers by Sabah businessmen.
The total of Filipino refugees was only 20,367 in the first quarter of 1970. By 1978, it increased to over 92,000 with a non-official estimate put the total already reach 140,000. The refugees rose to over 350,000 in 1989. As there is still no definite sign the conflict will permanently stopped, the influx of Filipino refugees continued even after the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1976.
Following the government decision to issue residency visas and a special card known as the IMM13 to the refugees, the UNHCR closed its office in 1987 after operating for 10 years. To this date, the main office being maintained in Kuala Lumpur.
Indonesia
As there is no official estimate of the total of Filipino refugees in Indonesia, the exact population is unknown. Recent findings in 2014 found there are at least 544 Filipino refugees (mostly from the Bajau community) taking shelter in Derawan Island, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan. It is believed their presence began in 2010 with some of the refugees claiming they are Malaysian citizens, although they were found with a special document released by the Malaysian government which stating they are not the citizen of that country during identity check-up by the Indonesian authorities. Responding to the report, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordering them to be sent back to their country in the Philippines immediately, although it is still unknown whether the process of deportation has begun. Nunukan Regency in North Kalimantan also reportedly saw a large Filipino refugees presence as recently in early 2017.
Aid
Issues
The UNHCR office in the Malaysian state of Sabah have been giving aid to the refugees for a period of 10 years; however, following the closure of its office, many of the refugees have been roaming in and around Sabah. Following the release of report from Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah (RCI) which stated many of the Filipino refugees have illegally obtained Malaysian citizenship, the UNHCR began monitoring the situation. However, since the UNHCR did not have any permanent presence in the state anymore, the monitoring capacity was limited.
As the Philippines never have the intention to establish its own consulate in the Malaysian state of Sabah to look on the welfare of its citizens, the blame was also put to the Philippines side for its lack of co-operation as the country continuously criticising the treatment towards its refugees without giving more of its own efforts to help and solve the problems of its own citizens.