2 more Pinoy seafarers rescued in Nigeria - DFA

MANILA, Philippines - Two more Filipino seafarers who were kidnapped in Nigeria last May 13 were rescued by Nigerian authorities, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the duo were to be brought to the Nigerian key city of Lagos to join nine other Filipino crew of the MV Spirit who were rescued earlier.

Five other Filipino seafarers remain in the chartered oil tanker, which was hijacked by Nigerian militants at the Delta State on May 13. The vessel had a total of 16 Filipino crew on board.

Conejos said the Philippine Embassy is coordinating with the Nigerian Foreign Ministry and federal security officials "for the safe release of the five seafarers who remain in the custody of the militants."

A consular team headed by the charge d’affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Abuja, Alex Lamadrid. is to meet with the rescued kidnapping victims in Lagos.

At least two Filipino seafarers – from the first group of nine – sustained slight injuries in the rescue efforts. [See: 2 rescued Pinoy seafarers in Nigeria injured - DFA]

The Philippine government has stopped sending Filipino workers to Nigeria following hostilities and kidnappings of foreign nationals. Several groups have requested that Manila lift the deployment ban as the situation there continues to improve.
Apart from the Gulf of Aden, the waters off Nigeria are considered the most dangerous due to piracy threats.

Global organizations monitoring hijackings have said that more than 200 foreigners have been taken hostage by pirates and other lawless groups across the southern oil region of Africa's biggest petroleum producer.

Foreign shipping and oil companies operating in Nigeria were known in the past to have paid huge amounts to ransom off their crewmen and staff taken hostage by militants.

A number of Filipino workers have also been abducted in the Niger Delta region but were later on freed upon payment ransom. - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more