Govt advises Pinoys vs boarding ships crossing Somali waters

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has advised its citizens against boarding ships that will pass through Somali waters, where 97 Filipino seafarers have been abducted since July 2008.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government issued the advisory while it was carefully studying whether it would ban Filipino seafarers from boarding ships crossing Somali waters.

"All we can say is give out an advisory to be sure that whenever they travel from one place to another, they will not take a merchant or a commercial vessel passing through Somalian waters. That's the most we can do for the moment," Ermita told reporters on Tuesday in an interview after the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture workshop at the Traders' Hotel in Manila.

Senator Manuel Roxas II on Monday called for the creation of a Philippine crisis team that would be stationed in Somalia to provide help to Filipino seamen who might become victims of piracy there.

Roxas said the crisis team should coordinate with the Somalia government in providing protection to the ships that cross piracy-prone routes. - GMANews.TV

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