Fifteen foreign nationals from the Philippines, including eight children and one infant, are undergoing repatriation processes after spending 13 days adrift at sea on a damaged wooden boat, according to Indonesian immigration officials. Local fishermen rescued the group off the coast of Buol Regency in Central Sulawesi on January 26, 2026, before authorities transferred them to the Immigration Detention House in Manado, North Sulawesi, in late February 2026.
Repatriation Process and Transfer to Manado
According to the Head of the Intelligence and Immigration Enforcement Section of the Palu Immigration Office, Oktavianus Malisan, the group traveled via land routes from Palu on February 22, 2026. The 24-hour journey brought the 15 individuals—consisting of six women, one adult man, and eight children—to the Manado Immigration Detention House on February 24, 2026. Oktavianus stated that the relocation aimed to ensure more efficient coordination with the Philippine Consulate General in Manado due to the significant distance from the Palu Immigration Office.
The Head of the Manado Immigration Detention Center, Widhi Mosakajaya Arradiko, noted that his office maintained communication with the Philippine Consulate General while the group was still in Palu to accelerate identity verification. Widhi added that illegal immigrants in the northern part of Sulawesi Island are routinely accommodated at the Manado facility because the Palu Immigration Office falls under its jurisdiction. Following identity verification at the consulate, the individuals will receive travel documents for their return to the Philippines, according to immigration officials.
Journey Origins and Survival at Sea
The group was traveling from Tawau in the state of Sabah, Malaysia, located on Borneo Island, to the Philippines when their wooden boat sustained damage, according to Oktavianus. During initial interviews conducted by the Palu Immigration Office, officials discovered the passengers lacked official citizenship documents, though they verbally declared themselves to be Filipino citizens. Muhammad Akmal, Head of the Palu Immigration Office, noted that a nine-month-old baby in the group possessed documents indicating birth in Tawau.
Regarding their 13-day survival at sea, Akmal remarked at a press conference in Manado that the adults drank saliva from seawater while the children survived on biscuits they had brought along, dividing single pieces in half. Social media photographs showed the group appearing in good health as they posed with immigration officers in Palu and Manado.
Historical Cross-Border Migration Context
The arrival of stranded individuals from the Philippines in North Sulawesi is not an isolated event. According to Pristiwanto, a researcher at the Manado Cultural Values Preservation Center, population movement between the southern Philippines and the northern islands of Sulawesi—particularly the Sangihe and Talaud island districts—has historical precedent, with cultural and social exchanges occurring between the regions for decades.
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