Soriano

MEMORANDUM

An immigration judge denied Petitioners’ applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) affirmed. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252 , and we deny the petition for review.

Petitioners allege that if they return to the Philippines they will be persecuted by the New People’s Army (“NPA,” an armed faction of the Communist Party), the Pas-cua Group (a criminal organization), and the Philippine government.

Substantial evidence supports the BIA’s conclusion that Petitioners have not established that the Philippine government is unwilling or unable to protect them from the NPA and the Pascua Group. In response to Petitioners’ complaints about the NPA, the government supplied Petitioners with weapons for self-defense and sent armed troops for assistance. These efforts substantially ameliorated the threat posed by the NPA to Petitioners. When Petitioners complained about a robbery by the criminal organization Pascua Group, the police arrested individuals in connection with the robbery. Although the NPA remained active in a diminished capacity in the…