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Friday, November 05, 2004
Arabic TV says Pinoy hostage in Iraq freed
MANILA -- A Filipino accountant kidnapped by Iraqi militants was reportedly released Friday, shortly after his wife appealed to his captors for his release on the occasion of holy Ramadan.
An Associated Press (AP) report quoting Arabic television station Al-Jazeera said the release of Davao City native Robert Teodore Tarongoy came after a Nepalese taken hostage at the same time by the Iraqi militants was freed.
Nepalese officials confirmed their national's release but Philippine officials said they could not.
Government officials in Manila said Friday they have no information about Tarongoy being freed and are checking on the reports.
Earlier Friday, Tarongoy's wife Ivy Grace appealed to Iraqi militants holding her husband captive to release him, reminding his abductors there are no longer any Filipino troops in the war-torn nation.
Al-Jazeera did not give a source for its information, saying the release of the two hostages comes after the wife of one hostage appealed to kidnappers for his release on the occasion of holy Ramadan.
Nepal's foreign minister announced earlier in the day the release of Inus Dewari, 27, who had been abducted along with Tarongoy, an unidentified American colleague and three other Iraqis by armed gunmen from their compound in Baghdad Monday.
Tarongoy, the Nepalese and four others--an unidentified American colleague and three Iraqis--taken hostage had worked for the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Co, a Riyadh-based company that provided catering and foodstuffs to the Iraqi army and others. Two of the Iraqi guards have already been released.
There have been no claims of responsibility and no demands made for the remaining hostages' release.
"Robert is a good man with deep respect for all Muslims," said Ivy Tarongoy. "My country, the Philippines, has no troops in Iraq. My husband and I wish only the best for the Iraqi people."
"I ask that he be freed as a symbol of goodwill and friendship between the peoples of Iraq and the Philippines," she said. "I do not see any more possible grievances that the kidnappers may have against the Philippine government."
Tarongoy was the second Filipino abducted in Iraq. In July, insurgents snatched truck driver Angelo dela Cruz and persuaded Manila to recall its small peacekeeping force early in exchange for his life. The move was sharply criticized by Washington and its allies but hailed in the Philippines.
The Iraqi government and the coalition forces have provided no information about the identity of Tarongoy's kidnappers or their demands, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A crisis management team and the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad are "activating all their contacts in Iraq to ascertain the whereabouts" of Tarongoy and his abductors, the statement said.
A Philippine official said the United States has asked Manila not to give any concessions to the kidnappers and to provide the Americans with an "open-ended authority" to deal with the crisis.
About 300 activists held a protest in Manila demanding Tarongoy's release but also blaming President Arroyo's government for growing unemployment that forced him and tens of thousands of other Filipinos to find work in risky areas abroad.
Ivy said her husband bargained hard for his US$900 monthly salary -- nearly nine times what he earned in his southern hometown of Davao.
"Robert went to Iraq to find decent work for our family's future," she said. "The pay was good, but that means nothing if we lose him."
Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas warned Filipinos against defying a government ban on deployment in Iraq imposed after the July hostage crisis.
More than 4,000 Filipinos work in US military camps across Iraq, mostly as maintenance workers and cooks. About 2,000 Filipinos have entered Iraq since the ban was imposed. (AP/Sunnex) |
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