DFA: Pinoy seafarers held hostage in Red Sea are 'fine' --- By GMA Integrated News

The 17 Filipino seafarers who are among the hostages in the ship seized by Yemen's rebel group Houthi in the Red Sea are fine, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday. In a television interview, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Houthi members have been consistent in indicating that they will not hurt the hostages. “The good news is that we do know that our seafarers are fine and that the Houthi rebels have been indicating consistently that they do not intend to harm them,” De Vega said in an ANC interview. While he cannot predict when the Pinoy hostages will be released, De Vega pointed out that there have been instances before that Filipino seafarers were taken in Yemen and all of them were eventually released. “The government is still doing what it can. We're on top of the situation…We'll get them out,” De Vega said. According to him, some of the Filipino seafarers were able to contact their families. De Vega said the Houthi rebels were saying that they will continue to do this as long as Israel keeps on occupying and attacking Gaza. With the four-day truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas set to start on Friday, De Vega said the Philippine government is optimistic that it will also lead to the release of the hostages in the ship. On Wednesday, the DFA said 17 Pinoy seafarers were among the foreigners held hostage by Houthis earlier this week. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has instructed the DFA to do everything to ensure the safety of the Filipinos held hostage in the Red Sea. The Houthis, an ally of Iran, have been launching long-range missile and drone salvoes at Israel in solidarity with the Hamas militants fighting in the Gaza Strip. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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