Friday, October 10, 2008 15 more Pinoy hostages in Somalia freed
THE 15 Filipino seafarers who were among those on board a Japanese-operated chemical tanker that was hijacked by Somali pirates almost two months ago were freed late Wednesday night.
Released were Noel Estrella of Iloilo, Darwin Enraca of Cavite, Pedro Mucas of Iloilo, Joey Caballero of Pangasinan, Pepe dela Cruz of Cavite, Joel Cepeda of Bacolod, Marlon Carino of Isabela, Vicente Panopio of Batangas, Cyrus Briton of Bacolod, Sorrton Bolas of Benguet, Esteban Abecia of Cagayan de Oro, Edgar Asoque of Leyte, Anthony Apon of Cavite, Danilo Labaro of Pangasinan, and Isidro San Diego of Bulacan.
Claro Cristobal, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), said the pirates also released four other foreign seamen of M/T Irene.
"The 15 seamen are now heading towards Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. All crew members are safe and sound despite the ordeal they have undergone," he said.
Cristobal added that the DFA is coordinating with the ship owner for the repatriation of the Filipino seamen.
With the release, DFA records disclosed that four other ships with 65 Filipinos are still being held by the pirates.
These are: M/V Stella Maris, a Japanese-owned bulk carrier with 20 Filipino crew, seized July 20; M/T Stolt Valor, a Hong Kong chemical tanker with two Filipinos and 31 other nationals, seized on September 15; M/V Centauri, a Greek-owned tanker with 26 Filipino crew, seized on September 17; and M/V Capt Stephanos, Greek-owned ship, with 17 Filipino seafarers on board, seized on September 21.
Meanwhile, the DFA is still verifying reports of the abduction of six Filipino seamen on board a vessel crossing the Nigerian delta earlier this month.
DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said a team will be dispatched to Bonny in Niger Delta for the verification mission.
Still unidentified men seized the six Filipino seamen from a boat plying the waterways of Nigeria's southern oil delta region.
The Philippines supplies one-third of the world's shipping manpower with about 270,000 Filipino seamen employed by foreign maritime agencies, making them the most vulnerable and prone to pirate attacks.
Manila does not directly negotiate with the hostage-takers but continues to coordinate with the Somalian government and the shipping firms to work for the immediate and safe release of the hostages. Somalia has no central government. (AH/Sunnex)
