REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on the process of getting confirmation from the authorities of the Philippines about an Indonesian citizen reportedly captured in Marawi for terrorism charge.

Upon hearing such information from the media since Wednesday (Nov 1), Indonesian consulate general in Davao City as well as embassy in Manila have been trying to receive official notification to be able to confirm the nationality of the arrested foreign national.

"This morning we also summoned the Charge de Affair of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta to ask about consular access but still, there is no Philippine authority that can give official notification yet," Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said during a press briefing here on Thursday.

Without the access, the Indonesian embassy cannot conduct an interview or check the documents to confirm whether the arrested person is Indonesian or not.

Muhammad Ilham Syahputra, who is allegedly having ties with Islamic State-linked Maute group, was arrested Wednesday morning in Barangay Loksadatu while he was trying to leave Marawi City.

Syahputra was turned over to police wherein a 45 pistol, grenade, foreign currencies, passport, and mobile phone were confiscated from him.

The 22-year-old man claimed he hailed from Medan, North Sumatra, and arrived in the Philippines in November 2016 upon the invitation of Isnilon Hapilon in an attempt to seize Marawi.

Meanwhile, according to Arrmanatha, the Philippine authority had claimed of finding a passport under the same name as Syahputra's who was owned by a victim and died in a battle in Marawi, last April.

"We have been asking for the passport also but they did not give it to us, so we keep communicating with them regarding this issue," he noted.

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