Marcos flies to Indonesia in first foreign trip as president

JAKARTA — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. left for Indonesia on Sunday for his first foreign trip since taking office in June.

He is expected to meet the Filipino community upon his arrival in the Indonesian capital later in the day.

"This is to once again put the Philippines in a position where we have strong alliances and strong partnerships which are necessary for us to come out of the post-pandemic economy," Marcos said in his message before his departure.

"So I leave to undertake my first state visit to our immediate neighbors, Indonesia and Singapore. In other words, ako'y mangangapit-bahay para sa ating bansa at para sa ating ekonomiya," he added.

Marcos' visit to Indonesia, which will be from September 4 to 6, was at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The two leaders are expected to discuss active and multifaceted cooperation in defense, maritime border security, economic development, and people-to-people exchanges.

"We'll be discussing the current state and the future as we see it of the bilateral relationship between the Philippines and Indonesia and the changing geopolitical environment," Marcos said.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Marcos and Widodo will also witness the signing of several key agreements in the areas of defense and culture and the comprehensive plan of action, which will chart the two countries’ bilateral priorities in the next five years.

Marcos is also expected to raise the case of Mary Jane Veloso with Indonesian officials, the DFA said, as her family urged the President to appeal for executive clemency.

At a pre-departure briefing last Friday, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza declined to give further details to avoid preempting the discussions that will happen during the state visit.

Daza was not privy to information about whether Marcos would make an effort to visit Veloso in jail.

Veloso is on death row in Indonesia due to drug trafficking charges. She had insisted that it was her recruiters who tricked her into bringing drugs by giving her a suitcase that contained narcotics in its seams.

At the invitation of Singaporean President Halimah Yacob, Marcos will head to Singapore on September 6 for a state visit.

He will have separate meetings with Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss bilateral relations and regional and global issues.

Marcos will also seek investments to create m more employment opportunities for Filipinos.

Daza said that investment deals would be tailored to the priority areas of the Marcos administration, meaning they may include infrastructure, renewable energy, food and security, and fertilizer importation, among
others.

Harvest of business deals

In his speech, Marcos mentioned that he would be seeking partnership and assistance "for investment in the areas where we see that they can be of an assistance especially in the critical areas as we have identified them in agriculture and in energy."

"I expect that we will be coming back with a harvest of business deals to be signed in my state visits that will further strengthen our economic ties with both Indonesia and Singapore," Marcos said.

"All these initiatives that we will undertake on these state visits are very much in line with all of the priority areas that we have identified, the agricultural sector, the guarantee of food supply, the guarantee of food prices that are affordable to ordinary Filipinos, the long-term plans that we have for energy, the long-term plans that we have for our emergence into the new global economy," he added.

According to Daza, a memorandum of understanding will also be signed regarding cooperation and personal data protection.

This deal will be inked by the National Privacy Commission and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore.

Marcos’ delegation includes Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Trade and Industry Secretary
Alfredo Pascual, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla.

Marcos, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the governments of Indonesia and Singapore "for the way they have welcomed and allowed to assimilate our Filipino nationals into their society, into their economy, and into their daily lives."

"We are always so proud of them and we are glad to see that our neighbors where our Filipino nationals work and strive also appreciate them for what they do," Marcos said.

On the other hand, Vice President Sara Duterte will take the helm of government while the President is out of the country.  —VBL/LBG, GMA News