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PH unlikely to repatriate Indonesian haj pilgrims this month
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In this photo provided by the Bureau of Immigration, Indonesian haj pilgrims carrying Philippine passports wait after being intercepted by immigration authorities on Aug. 19 at Manila's airport, before boarding their flight for Saudi Arabia. Officials said the 177 Indonesians' nationality was exposed because they could not speak any Philippine language or dialect. (Bureau of Immigration via AP/-)
T
he Indonesian Embassy in Manila says it is unlikely the Philippines will repatriate the 177 Indonesian haj pilgrims arrested by Philippine authorities for passport fraud this month due to ongoing administrative procedures.
The embassy transferred 39 Indonesian haj pilgrims from an immigration detention facility to guest houses in its compound in Manila on Friday morning, following 138 others who had been moved from the facility on Thursday.
Deputy chief of mission Ade Petranto said the removal process could be conducted following a transfer request sent to the Philippine Department of Justice, which included appropriate facilities in the embassy compound as one of its considerations.
“The transfer was authorized after the embassy provided a letter of guarantee on Thursday,” said Ade on Friday in a written statement.
He further said the group could not be repatriated yet as Philippine Department of Justice officials were scheduled to meet them next Tuesday.
Ada further said the Indonesian embassy was continuing to make the case to the Philippine authorities that the 177 haj pilgrims were victims. Therefore, it was expected that they could be repatriated before too long except for several people who would likely be presented as witnesses in the trial of the case.
Philippine Immigration head Jaime Morente said the fake Philippine passports used by the haj pilgrims were reportedly provided by their brokers.
Haj fees paid by the pilgrims reportedly varied, starting from US$6,000 to $10,000 per person. They used unused seats of the haj quota provided by Saudi Arabia for the Philippines.
Morente said the group was exposed after airport staff discovered that they were unable to speak Tagalog. (ebf)
