Marcos arrives in Indonesia for Prabowo inauguration

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Jakarta on Saturday evening to attend the inauguration of Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto on Sunday.

This was confirmed to reporters by Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Cesar Chavez.

More than 30 state leaders and representatives, including Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, will be present during the inauguration of Prabowo and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

''The visit highlights the Philippines' strong diplomatic ties with Indonesia as the two nations mark 75 years of formal relations,'' the PCO said.

Marcos and Prabowo met in Manila on September 20 during the latter's courtesy visit.

In the exchange of pleasantries, Marcos told Prabowo that it bodes well for the Philippines and Indonesia that the latter chose Manila as one of his first foreign visits as an elected state leader.

Prabowo, meanwhile, stressed the close relationship between the Philippines and Indonesia.

“We have common roots, cultural, historical, and by the fact that we are very close neighbors, it behooves us, I think, to always support each other and to work together closely in all fields,” he said.

Prabowo, a former military general and Indonesia's defense minister, won the February presidential election by a wide margin.

At least 100,000 police and military personnel have been deployed to secure the inauguration ceremony, including snipers and anti-riot units, which will stay in place until Wednesday, October 23, military chief Agus Subianto said in a Reuters report on Friday.

The Indonesian Air Force will also deploy four F-16 jets to guard aircraft carrying foreign dignitaries attending the inauguration, state news agency Antara reported. — VBL, GMA Integrated News