President Prabowo Welcomed Warmly by Indonesian Diaspora in the Philippines

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto was greeted warmly and enthusiastically by the Indonesian diaspora in Cebu, Philippines.

President Prabowo will attend the 48th ASEAN Summit on May 7-8, 2026 in the Philippines.

Upon arrival at the hotel where he stayed, President Prabowo was immediately greeted by two Indonesian children wearing traditional clothes standing neatly while handing flowers to the Head of State.

Inside the hotel, a number of ministers of the Red and White Cabinet who had arrived in Cebu earlier also welcomed the President's arrival. Not only the government ranks, Indonesian diaspora living in Cebu also seemed enthusiastic to welcome President Prabowo directly.

Some of them even had the opportunity to shake hands and talk briefly with President Prabowo.

Reported by ANTARA, Thursday, May 7, Ronald Tasik, an Indonesian diaspora who works as a doctor in Cebu, admitted that he was happy to meet President Prabowo in person.

According to Ronald, the President's figure looks warm and close to the Indonesian community abroad.

"Happy to meet you, very friendly, he asked, where are you from? name?" said Ronal.

Ronald admitted that he was proud to see President Prabowo using the domestically produced Maung vehicle during the overseas visit.

A similar thing was conveyed by Lili Yahya, an Indonesian citizen who has lived in Cebu for a long time.

He admitted that he was touched to be able to welcome the President of Indonesia directly in the city.

"For sure, we are proud, touched, and we are happy about the arrival of the President. Because this is the first time, a visit from the President has come to Cebu, Philippines," said Lili.

According to him, President Prabowo showed a warm and open attitude to the Indonesian diaspora.

Lili also hopes that the ASEAN meeting attended by President Prabowo can bring positive impacts to the relationship between Indonesia and the Philippines and pay more attention to the Indonesian diaspora in Cebu.

Meanwhile, Romo Agus Sudaryanto who has served as a pastor in Cebu for 15 years admitted that the moment was an unforgettable experience for him.

Until now, he only saw the President's visit through video footage, but now he can meet in person.

"I think the presence of the President among us, the Indonesian people in Cebu, is a new movement, our President is global and especially in the neighborhood, in the Philippines, where we live," said Romo Agus.