Govt, manning agencies to address abduction of Pinoy seamen

MANILA, Philippines - The government has called local manning agencies for a meeting to address the worsening problem on the continued abduction of Filipino seafarers near Somalia.

“I have called the manning agencies and we are meeting at the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines office in Intramuros to assess the situation and discuss possible measures how to avoid such incident," said Marianito Roque, secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Palace officials on Monday said concerned government agencies were carefully studying the possibility of a deployment ban amid the hijacking of another Greek ship near Somalia that was boarded by 17 Filipino seafarers.

A total of eight ships with Filipino crew members have been hijacked in African waters since July this year. At least 97 Filipino seamen have been abducted in the Horn of Africa since July 2008.

Asked if he thinks that imposing the ban would be a good move to prevent the abduction of Filipino seamen, Roque said “Wala naman tayong deployment sa Somalia. So how can we impose the deployment ban (We don’t have a deployment ban in Somalia. So how can we impose the deployment ban)?"

The Filipino seafarers abducted last Sunday remain unharmed and safe, according to Roque, adding that the principal owners of the vessel are negotiating for the safe release of all the crew members of the ship MV Capt. Stephanos. - GMANews.TV

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