The kidnappings were criticized by Indonesia. On July 14, 2016, a group of Indonesian protesters gathered in front of the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia, holding banners that read "Go to hell Philippines and Abu Sayyaf" and "Destroy the Philippines and Abu Sayyaf" due to what was seen as the lack of action from the Philippine government, who seems unable to defeat the militants and protect foreign citizens. The group demanded a large scale military operation to destroy the Abu Sayyaf, of which the Indonesian military before also have proposing to send their military to Philippines, but were rejected by the Philippine government, citing it is against their constitution.