REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi has handed over passports symbolically to persons of Indonesian descent who have lived in the southern Philippines for generations.
Marsudi's visit to the Southern Philippines has initiated the process of Indonesian government diplomacy in 2018, as stated in a press release from the Foreign Ministry received here on Wednesday.
During the visit, the foreign minister symbolically handed over 300 Indonesian passports to persons of Indonesian descent.
They have been living for years in the Philippines, but have no citizenship status.
"Data collection and affirmation of status are not easy processes. However, we can complete this," the minister remarked.
"This extensive effort shows the government`s commitment to provide maximum protection for its citizens living abroad," the minister explained.
The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Davao City, in cooperation with the Government of the Philippines and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), has recorded 8,745 persons of Indonesian descent.
The persons of Indonesian descent are spread in eight provinces in the Southern Philippines. As many as 2,425 people have been given the Affirmation Letter of Indonesian Citizenship (SPKI).
During the visit, the Indonesian and Filipino governments have also signed Islamic education cooperation, especially with Islamic schools in South Mindanao.
The cooperation will cover various fields, including curriculum development, joint research and educational workshops, scholars and students exchange programs, as well as vocational education.
On the occasion, Indonesia will award 100 scholarships per year for students of Islamic schools from Mindanao, covering all international travel expenses, tuition fees, and living expenses in Indonesia.
Marsudi also paid a courtesy call to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the Presidential Office in Panacan, Davao, Southern Philippines.
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