Indonesia-Philippine Verification Of Filipino Citizens In North Sulawesi

MANADO - The Government of Indonesia and the Government of the Philippines will carry out verification together with residents of Filipino descent or PFDs in North Sulawesi.

"We appreciate all participants while affirming the importance of consolidation across ministries and institutions in formulating a joint verification mechanism," said Assistant Deputy for Coordination of Immigration Service Strategy, Agato P. P. Simamora as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 2.

The Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections (Kemenko Kumham Imipas) held a 'Joint Verification' Coordination Meeting on Citizenship Status and 'Joint Clearance' for 'Persons of Sajano 'Descent' (PFDs) in North Sulawesi.

The coordination meeting is a strategic momentum for Indonesia and the Philippines in formulating a citizenship verification method and aligning a more structured and measurable 'joint clearance' mechanism.

"The determination of citizenship status and joint clearance is the main pillar in a comprehensive resolution of the PFDs issue in North Sulawesi," he said.

Agato Simamora explained that the PFDs issue started with a letter from the Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines highlighting the unclear status of Filipinos in Indonesia.

Since 2014, Indonesia and the Philippines have been committed through the 'Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation' (JCBC) to resolve the issue of cross-border descent in a measured manner.

To date, the Philippine Consulate General in Manado has received 675 PFDs data, with details of 274 designated as Filipino citizens, while another 401 are subject to joint verification.

Agato emphasized that this process was not the granting of citizenship choices, but the determination of status in accordance with the provisions of the law of the two countries.

He also expressed his appreciation to the ministries and institutions involved actively, including the Directorate General of General Legal Administration and the Directorate General of Immigration who has issued a Ministerial Decree related to PFDs.

"This instrument is not legalization of something illegal, but bridging of laws and concrete innovations in handling PFDs," said Agato.

The Consul General of the Philippines in Manado, Mary Jennifer Domingo Dingal, also expressed his appreciation for the significant progress over the past three months.

"We are ready to carry out verification together with full support," he said.