The 17 Filipino seafarers being held hostage by Houthi rebels on a ship in the Red Sea are ‘safe,’ the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said the rebels, who hijacked the crewmembers’ cargo ship in the southern portion of the Red Sea on Sunday, have not asked for any condition or ransom for the captives’ release.
‘We haven’t been asked for ransom or anything like that so we believe they just wanted to send a message and we know that our crewmen and other crewmen are not guilty of anything that they are fighting about,’ he said in an interview at his office.
‘They’re just seafarers doing their jobs. The rebels seem to recognize that and we’re working hard so we’ll see what happens.”
De Vega said one of the 17 hostages was able to talk to a family member in the Philippines, an indication that ‘they are safe.’
He clarified, however, that communication out of the ship is not consistent.
‘Ang magandang update dito ay alam namin they are safe
(The good news here is we know they are safe). Their manning agency and the DMW (Department of Migrant Workers) are in touch with their family,’ he said.
The DFA is coordinating with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and foreign governments for their immediate release, hopefully within the month or before Christmas, but did not provide further details.
‘We’re hopeful because we’re doing all that we can,’ de Vega said.
Filipinos trafficked in Myanmar
Apart from facilitating the seafarers’ release, the DFA is also working to extract two other Filipinos in the strife-torn areas of Myanmar.
De Vega said the two are among the six human trafficking victims stranded in the northern part of Myanmar, near China.
‘The four have gone home but the two are still there because we’re looking for a way for them to get out of Myanmar because they may be wanted in countries like China so they cannot use the China corridor,’ he said.
‘They are safe in their apartment but I am confident
we will be able to repatriate them as soon as possible.’
Local reports said Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a coup d’etat in 2021, has been engaged in an intense fight with ethnic rebels camped out in Myanmar’s mountains, mostly in the north.
Source: Philippines News Agency