durable solutions in order to prevent an erosion of the goodwill of the Governments of the countries concerned. 27. The Philippines continued to be a country open to refugees and its Government was willing to accede to all legal instruments for the protection of refugees and to adopt, in co-operation with UNHCR, any solution, even temporary in nature, in order to alleviate the plight of refugees. To that end, the Philippines had sought membership of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's programme. 28. The Philippines continued to implement a policy of providing first asylum, although the camp at Palawan, where 9,072 people were living, was reaching saturation point. The country also hosted a transit centre in Manila and another centre at Morong in Bataan province. A regional resettlement centre, also in Marong, would be ready by the middle of the year. There were, however, limits to the number of asylvun seekers who could be admitted by a country like the Philippines, which was already heavily burdened by an onerous external debt as well as the legacy of years of dictatorship. Her delegation therefore fully supported the statement made by the representative of Thailand. 29. At an informal working meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Conference on Indo-Chinese refugees recently held in Manila, the countries of temporary refuge, including the Philippines, had deplored the fact that the 1989 Comprehensive Plan of Action was seriously undermined by the selective implemention of its provisions, regretting in particular the impasse on the question of the duration of a moratorium on mandatory return of non-refugees. At that meeting, the UNHCR representative had referred to the Imminent risk of a major tragedy on the high seas, and the countries of temporary refuge had outlined measures to be taken, as enumerated by the representative of Thailand. 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the Philippines' efforts to provide asylum and solutions to the problem of Indo-Chinese refugees, including its willingness to adopt temporary measures and its limitations due to external debt and legacy of dictatorship. The focus is on humanitarian aid and relief, rather than economic or industrial development.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief