Last week I shared some troubling news: several Rohingya migrants were discovered out at sea by reporters from the New York Times. Hungry and thirsty, they told the reporters they had been out there for months, unable to seek refuge in neighboring countries where they had been rejected. Now, it seems one country may be willing to take them in: the Philippines.

RECAP ON THE ISSUE: Over the past few years, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar as a result of ethnic persecution, mostly headed towards Malaysia or Bangladesh. Recently an unusually high amount of these migrants have been spotted out at sea, alongside thousands of others fleeing poverty in Bangladesh. Now the area has a full-blown humanitarian crisis on its hands because neighboring countries like Malaysia and Thailand have refused to take the migrants in. 

Complicating the issue is the fact that many of the migrants lack official papers since the government of Myanmar refuses to acknowledge them as citizens. However, Leila de Lima, Secretary of the Department of Justice of the Philippines said they might be able to provide assistance and disregard the lack of official documentation.

"Asylum seekers cannot always be expected to prepare travel documents particularly where the agent of persecution is the State. Hence, their situation deserves to be treated and examined in a different context," de Lima said. 

"The Philippines had its shares of hosting asylum seekers in the past even before it became a signatory to the 1951 Convention in July, 1981. As early as the Second World War, it provided asylum to 1,500 Jewish refugees who had been denied asylum in other countries," she continued.

While I'm crossing my fingers the Philippines does in fact accept the migrants, I'm glad not everyone will get a warm reception. The Philippines Department of Justice has warned that those who aided in the trafficking of the migrants will face the full force of the law.