US-based Pinoys call on PNoy to ask Obama for TPS approval, drone technology

Days before United States President Barack Obama's visit to the Philippines, a US-based Filipino group has asked Malacañang to discuss the protection of Filipinos both in the country and in the US with him.

US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), in a statement Thursday, pushed for the granting of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the Philippines and for Washington to provide the Philippines with drone technology to "keep China at bay."

Beyond protecting Filipinos affected by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the TPS will grant both legal and illegal migrants permission to stay in the US, employment authorization, and travel permits.

"This grant of TPS will also significantly positively affect the economy of the Philippines and increase  the country's dollar reserves,"  USP4GG chair Loida Nicolas-Lewis said in her letter to President Benigno Aquino III.

While she commended the Philippines' move to bring its territorial dispute with China before an international tribunal, Lewis said the country "realistically" needs weaponry to neutralize China's threats.

Drones, which can carry out unmanned attack and reconnaissance missions, are needed to supplement the country's lack of conventional armaments, she said.

"If the Philippines had access to this technology, we could effectively utilize it to keep China at bay without endangering the lives of our soldiers. The cost will be less than that spent for jet planes, ships or helicopters," Lewis noted.

According to Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose, the Philippines on December 13, 2013 formally requested the US government to designate the country under TPS following the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas, which left over 6,000 dead and millions more desperate for livelihood. —Rie Takumi/KBK/JL, GMA News

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