Wahid vows to resolve immigration issue

Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid vowed yesterday to resolve soon the decades-old problem of some 12,000 undocumented Indonesians staying in the coastal villages of Davao.

Wahid made the pledge during a press conference he gave at the VIP lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport before he flew to Jakarta yesterday afternoon.

He was seen off at the airport by Philippine officials led by Vice President and concurrent Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona Jr.

The Indonesian leader also said bilateral efforts were being exerted to resolve the problem which has become an irritant to the relations between the two countries.

"We are meeting the problem head-on. We hope that we can resolve it sooner in the interest of our two governments," Wahid said.

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo took the opportunity to formally refer to Wahid the problem about the overstaying Indonesians in Mindanao.

"Although we have already discussed this matter in meetings with your staff at the Indonesian consulate in Davao City, I believe this should be given priority and addressed at the higher levels of our two governments in order for us to arrive at a final and lasting solution to the problem which has been with us for the past decades," Domingo stated in her letter addressed to Wahid.

She said the Indonesians, mostly fishermen, arrived in Mindanao and have stayed there for the past 30 years. A number of them have been assimilated into the mainstream of Philippine society by marrying Filipinos, and engaged in trade and commerce. – Rey Arquiza, Marichu Villanueva