Seven Filipino Descendants in North Sulawesi Officially Become Indonesian Citizens

Seven residents of Filipino descent in Girian District, Bitung City, North Sulawesi, have officially become Indonesian citizens (WNI) after the Ministry of Law issued their citizenship decrees. Director General of General Legal Administration at the Ministry of Law, Widodo, stated in Bitung on Friday that the handover of the seven decrees represents a government effort to affirm their citizenship status, which is crucial for obtaining population documents. These documents are necessary for them to access their rights as Indonesian citizens in areas such as healthcare, education, and the economy. Previously, the lack of such documents meant they were often excluded from various government programmes. With the confirmation of their citizenship status, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration can now issue identity cards, family cards, and birth certificates, and they can subsequently process other needs like BPJS health insurance. Widodo noted that descendants of Indonesian citizens in the Philippines who do not yet hold Filipino citizenship can be processed for Indonesian citizenship. However, he added that foreign nationals who already hold another citizenship are respected, though they may also become Indonesian citizens through the naturalisation application process as regulated by law. He explained that this process has been ongoing for a long time, possibly since before Indonesia’s independence, due to the close proximity, mixed marriages, cultural acculturation, and economic activities between the two regions. The central government is synergising with regional administrations to conduct data collection and process citizenship status confirmations, with the core principle that no individual residing in the country should be left stateless.