23 August 2016•Update: 23 August 2016
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines
The Philippines has launched an independent investigation after 177 Indonesians were caught with valid Philippine passports at a Manila airport before boarding a flight to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported Tuesday that a department of foreign affairs spokesman said they were currently waiting for the formal turnover of the passports of the Indonesians, currently held by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“We will conduct a separate investigation on this once the passports of Indonesians are turned over by the BI,” Charles Jose said in an interview Monday.
As the recipient of the largest Hajj quota, Indonesia -- the world’s most populous Muslim country, with a population of around 256 million -- sends around 200,000 pilgrims to Mecca and Medina every year for the largest annual gathering of people in the world.
Each Indonesian pilgrim must pay a deposit of around $2,500 and there are currently more than 2 million Indonesians on the waiting list, prompting some to seek alternatives to registering for the Muslim pilgrimage from the archipelago.
On Friday, the BI revealed that the 177 Indonesians nabbed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were carrying genuine Philippine passports believed to have been acquired through “fraudulent means” in exchange for $6,000-10,000 each.
According to Jose, the documents were Hajj passports issued to Filipino pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.
“The Hajj passport is different from the regular passport. This is issued to Filipino Hajj pilgrims,” he said.
On Monday, Indonesia’s minister of law and human rights announced that the government was seeking the repatriation of its nationals, who he said acquired the documents through a syndicate operating in the neighboring countries.
Yasonna Laoly revealed that the government also found indications of the involvement of some Indonesian immigration officers in the syndicate.
"We are checking the information. We are investigating some immigration offices," he was quoted as saying by kompas.com, without providing details about their alleged role.
The national police’s Criminal Investigation Unit announced it was due to send a team to the Philippines as it seeks to uncover the parties that facilitated the 177 pilgrims’ trip.
