Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Arrmanatha Nasir said his party was conducting an internal inspection regarding the burning of reog at the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao, Philippines.
"Essentially, there has been an official statement from the Consulate General in Davao regarding the reog issue and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also has an internal process to ensure that the goods are state agency assets," said Arrmanatha Nasir in Jakarta, Sunday (8/11). .
On 20 October 2015, the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao issued an official statement that the destruction of Ponorogo reog by burning was carried out because its condition had been damaged and eaten by termites.
However, the photos that have gone viral and have even been distributed by local "online" media Bitung News, show that there is a certain ritual before the burning.
In one of the photos it also appears that before being burned, the Ponorogo reog was stored in a glass cabinet and appeared to be in good condition.
Apart from the reog, in another photo, it appears that the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao removed the dragon ornaments on the gamelan set and then also burned it.
Related to this, Arrmanatha conveyed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would carry out inspections according to the processes in accordance with existing standards.
" Periodically there are internal inspections , " he said .
Domestic reactions related to the burning of Reog Ponorogo at the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao, were conveyed by the Jabodetabek Reog Community.
The community sent an official letter to the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao, Philippines, asking for clarification on information on the burning of reog art instruments by Indonesian Consulate General officials.
Secretary General of the Jabodetabek Reog Association, Agus Setiyoko, said that his party hoped that the Indonesian Consulate General in Davao, apart from providing a detailed explanation of the burning of the reog, could also broadcast clarifications on the burning of the reog art objects in a number of national media.