Indonesia Grants Citizenship to People of Indonesian descent in Philippines

Indonesian Foreign Minister hands over a passport to an Indonesian descent living in Mindanao.

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in Davao on Wednesday symbolically handed over 300 passports to people of Indonesian descent (PIDs) living in the Philippines to grant them Indonesian citizenship.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received by ANtara News on Wednesday, those who were granted Indonesian citizenship were PIDs who had been living for generations in the southern Philippines region but did not have any citizenship.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Davao City, along with the Government of the Philippines and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have managed to gather data on 8,745 PIDs living in eight provinces in South Philippines.

Of the identified PIDs, 2,425 have been granted letters affirming Indonesian citizenship, or SPKI.

Minister Marsudi conveyed that gathering data and affirming the status of PIDs was not an easy task.

“This long and tireless work has demonstrated the efforts of the Indonesian government to provide maximum protection to its citizens living overseas,” Marsudi emphasized.

During her visit to Davao City, Minister Marsudi also paid a courtesy call on Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte at the presidential office in Panacan, Davao City, South Philippines.

Minister Marsudi also initiated cooperation between the two governments in the field of Islamic education, especially with the Islamic schools or madrasas in South Mindanao.

Every year, the Indonesian government will grant 100 scholarships covering expenses for international travel, tuition fees, and living costs to students of Islamic schools of Mindanao to study in Indonesia. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)