MANILA (UPDATE) — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. left the country on Sunday for his first state visits to the Indonesia and Singapore.

Marcos, along with Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and other members of his Cabinet, departed for the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at around 10 a.m.

Joining the trip also are First Lady Liza Marcos, son Ilocos Norte 1st Dist. Rep. Sandro Marcos, and his cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Vice President Sara Duterte and Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez were among other officials present at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 to attend the departure ceremony.

• VP Duterte named OIC as Marcos leaves PH for state visits

Duterte will serve as the Philippine government's officer-in-charge while Marcos is out of the country until Wednesday.

In his speech before his flight, Marcos said his state visits to "our immediate neighbors" will "reaffirm our ties with fellow archipelagic nations."

“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," he said.

“In other words, ako’y mangangapitbahay para sa ating bansa at para sa ating ekonomiya,” he added.

Marcos will stay in Indonesia until Tuesday, and then travel to Singapore through Wednesday.

"My state visits to our ASEAN neighbors will seek to harness the potential of our vibrant trade and investment relations. As such, an economic briefing, business forums, and meetings have been organized to proactively create and attract more investments and buyers for our exports in order to accelerate the post-pandemic growth of our economy," he said.

When he comes back to the Philippines from both state visits, Marcos said he expects to bring "a harvest of business deals" that will "further strengthen our economic ties with both Indonesia and Singapore."

During his visit to Indonesia, Marcos is expected to meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo, with whom he will be witnessing the signing of agreements on the areas of defense and culture.

A “comprehensive Plan of Action” charting the two countries’ bilateral priorities in the next 5 years is set to be signed during Marcos’ visit there, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had said.

• Marcos to witness signing of defense, culture pacts during state visit to Indonesia

He is also expected to discuss with Widodo the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who has been detained in Indonesia for more than a decade since being arrested for alleged heroin smuggling in 2010.

Veloso was scheduled to be executed by firing squad in April 2015, but was granted a last-minute reprieve so she could testify against her alleged human trafficker.

• Kaso ni Mary Jane Veloso, inaasahang tatalakayin sa Indonesia state visit ni Marcos
• Marcos preps for Indonesia state visit

Before leaving for Indonesia, Marcos had been “apprised” about Philippine-Indonesian relations, Malacañang said last Tuesday.

• Marcos preps for Indonesia state visit

Marcos also said that he is scheduled to meet with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong after his visit to Indonesia.

He is set to meet the Filipino community in both countries, along with a roundtable meeting with Indonesia's business sector.

— with reports from Katrina Domingo and Robert Mano, ABS-CBN News

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