President Rodrigo Duterte talks with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo during their meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 9. Duterte is currently on a two-day visit to the country. AP
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he and Indonesian President Joko Widodo had agreed on how to settle the issue of the 700 Indonesians who used Philippine passports to attend the traditional Mecca celebration in Saudi Arabia.
The President said he did not consider the case criminal and believed that the Indonesians had been duped and victimized by a scam. “There were operators and those are the guys we are looking for,” Duterte said.
“We will cause the issuance of the Indonesian passports as fast as it can be processed and they can go home, no problem about that. I do not intend to detain or even to investigate them. It’s the Indonesian government’s case when they come back here,” he said.