The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday called on the Nigerian militants who abducted six Filipino seafarers to release them immediately.
DFA pleaded that the abducted Filipinos are not involved in politics or in political matters.
“They are engaged in shipping, a legitimate trade, which eventually will aid in the development of the local communities,” the DFA said in a statement.
The department instructed Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga R. Umpa to work closely with Nigerian federal and state authorities in securing the release of the seafarers.
Umpa reported to the DFA that he has dispatched Vice Consul Randy Arquiza and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer Camalodin P. Manggis to Warri in Delta State, where the six Filipinos are being held, to assist in ongoing efforts to secure their release.
The six Filipinos, who were working aboard a cargo ship owned by Baco Liner GmbH, were abducted after the ship was hijacked near Warri in the morning of January 20.
Philippine authorities will work with the Nigerian government and the workers’ employer in effecting their release.
DFA said its focus is on the safety and recovery our seafarers at the soonest time possible.
Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a temporary halt on workers going to Nigeria following the kidnapping of six Filipinos there over the weekend.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the President has ordered the temporary ban of deployment to Nigeria until the security of Filipinos are guaranteed.
A prominent separatist group in the region said the six Filipinos were kidnapped by members of a local community.
The Filipinos are reportedly being held on the cargo ship they were working on in the southern Delta state.
Media reports said the ship, which was on its way to Warri, the state capital, was stopped at Okerenkoko on Saturday morning.