REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- President Joko Widodo admitted here on Monday that the government could not act fast to secure the release of Indonesian citizens being held hostage in the Philippines because they are currently in the territory of a foreign country.

"We must understand that they are not in our territory and so we cannot move fast to intervene. They are in a foreign country's territory," he said after an event to familiarize the business community with the tax amnesty program.

President Joko Widodo also confirmed that another Indonesian citizen had been abducted by Abu Sayyaf while aboard a Malaysian boat.

Herman bi Manggak, the skipper of a shrimp boat belonging to Malaysia, was abducted while sailing in the Kinabatang in Sabah waters bordering the Philippines on Wednesday (Aug 3).