Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez urged Filipinos illegally staying in America to return to the Philippines as the new administration under newly-elected President Donald Trump is expected to strictly implement immigration laws.

Noting that Trump won on the basis of his promise to deport illegal immigrants in the United States, Romualdez warns Filipinos to avoid deportation as they will not be able to return once deported.

"My advice to them is to immediately leave voluntarily because once you're deported, you can never come back to the United States. At least if you leave, there's always an opportunity or a chance that you'll be able to file at the right and just follow the rules and regulations of the country. That's the only way," he told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) in an online forum on Friday.

Romualdez said among the millions of illegal immigrants in the United States only around 300,000 are Filipinos.

" I don't think we have a very large number. Compared to other countries. We have about maybe 250 to 300,000 at the most....or considered to be illegal, but some of them have already filed, and so therefore they are here in limbo, meaning to say they're waiting for their papers to pass through," he said.

Romualdez expressed his belief that Trump will be "very strict" in carrying out his promise to the Americans.

"I can see that the administration, President Trump, is really going to be very strict with the immigration policy that he intends to put in place, because that is a promise he made to the American public, and it's probably the reason why he won an issue that was very important for a large number of Americans," he said.

"Very likely he will be able to push that program, although it's going to take a lot of resources... .it's something that it's a big operation, because we're talking about millions that are here in the United States right now, illegally," he added. Robina Asido/DMS