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The Philippines has ordered the repatriation of 45
Filipino construction workers from Nigeria after eight of them were
kidnapped.
The Philippine Embassy has taken
the workers to a hotel after armed kidnappers attacked their
construction site, Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said
Friday.
He said the government had
ordered their immediate return to the Philippines, adding, “we are
working on that now.”
Three South Korean executives and
eight Filipino laborers working for the South Korean firm Daewoo
Engineering and Construction were seized Thursday in Nigeria.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry
said Friday that authorities in Nigeria had met the kidnappers, but
said the meeting had produced no results.
Some 4,500 Filipinos work in
Nigeria, and Conejos said Manila would also repatriate those who
felt in danger, although he said the security problem was focused on
gas and oil areas.
The Philippines imposed a ban on
Filipinos seeking jobs to Nigeria earlier this year after 25 workers
were abducted in separate incidents. All the hostages were later
freed unharmed.
President Arroyo eased the ban in
March, allowing workers with unfinished contracts to return to
Nigeria.
About eight million Filipinos, or
almost 10 percent of the population, work abroad and their
remittances are a major pillar of the country’s economy.
On Friday President Arroyo
ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to activate its crisis
committee to ensure the safety of Filipinos working in Nigeria.
Conejos had reported to the
President that Philippine Vice-Consul to Nigeria Randy Arquiza
called him to say that a Filipino worker had told him his fellow
Filipino workers had been abducted from their barracks while they
were asleep.
--AFP and Sam Mediavilla
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