MANILA - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will witness the signing of agreements in the areas of defense and culture together with Indonesian President Joko Widodo when the Philippine leader travels to Jakarta next week for his first state visit.

A "comprehensive Plan of Action that will chart the countries’ bilateral priorities over the next five years" is also expected to be signed, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

• Marcos may first visit Indonesia or SG, before possibly attending UNGA: envoy
• Marcos to travel to Indonesia, Singapore in September

Marcos will be in Indonesia on Sept. 4-6, according to the DFA.

“During the state visit, the two Presidents will witness the signing of several key agreements in the areas of defense and culture,” said the agency.

“They will also exchange views on major issues affecting the region and the world,” it said.

A meeting with business leaders in Jakarta is scheduled as well, during which Marcos is expected to “promote trade and investment to support the Philippines’ economic agenda under his administration.”

Mary Jane Veloso’s case

Marcos will “most likely” raise the issue of overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso - who is on death row - with Indonesian leaders, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier said.

“We will most likely raise this issue with the Indonesian officials and our concerns on this,” Manalo told a House panel.

“Just to ensure... that this issue is going to be one of those we will raise during the state visit,” he said.

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Veloso has been imprisoned in Indonesia for 12 years after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage in 2010. The former garbage picker in Nueva Ecija had pleaded her innocence, telling Indonesian courts that her recruiters stashed the illegal drugs in her luggage without her knowledge.



She was supposed to be executed by firing squad in Indonesia in April 2015, but was granted a last-minute stay of execution after the Philippines argued that the Filipina could provide valuable testimony against human and drug traffickers.

Then-President Benigno Aquino III personally talked to Widodo to plead on Veloso's case and grant her clemency at the sidelines of a summit that year.

Border agreement

The Philippines and Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest and most populous country, have established diplomatic relations over the last 73 years.

Among the landmark agreements between the two nations is the Philippines-Indonesia Maritime Border Agreement, which was first discussed in 1994 and became a law in 2019.

• Mary Jane Veloso's recruiters convicted of large-scale illegal recruitment

Under the deal, Philippine and Indonesian agencies collaborate to determine the delineation of overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Mindanao and Celebes seas.

The agreement was hailed by the international community as instrumental in promoting peace and stability in the region as it also guaranteed the regular conduct of coordinated patrols and a border crossing agreement between the two archipelagic countries.

Bilateral trade

Marcos’ trip to Jakarta will also test if he can broaden the $9.5-billion bilateral trade between the Philippines and Indonesia.

In June, Indonesia Ambassador to the Philippines Agus Widjojo said that Indonesia is “looking to increase” its investments in “agriculture, transportation and strategic industries” in the Philippines.

Indonesia is the current President of the G20 and will also be the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year.

Marcos' trip to Indonesia will be followed by another state visit to Singapore on Sept. 6-7, during which he will have separate meetings with Singaporean President Halimah Yakob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

The DFA said Marcos will meet with the Filipino communities in the two countries.

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