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By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
THE Department of Foreign Affairs
on Tuesday clarified that a Filipino was indeed included in the
earlier reported kidnapped oil workers by rebels in Nigeria last
week.
A day after issuing a statement
which denied rumors of another abduction, the DFA issued the
clarification to correct its own statement issued last Sunday when
it stated that no Filipino was among those kidnapped in Nigeria. It
said the Filipino was mistakenly identified to be an Indian
national.
Quoting the report of Philippine
Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga Umpa, DFA said the Filipino, four
Britons, three Americans, a South African and a Nigerian were
abducted in Bayelsa State on May 25 about 7 a.m. (Nigeria time).
The department said several
boatloads of armed men attacked the offshore construction barge
where the victims were working.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto
Romulo directed DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr., who is in
Nigeria, and Umpa to coordinate with the Nigerian government in its
efforts to secure the victims’ release. Romulo said the Nigerian
government has “committed to do its utmost to secure the release
of the victims at the earliest possible time.”
“This new abduction case
underlines the perilous situation that confronts Filipino workers in
some countries. It is for their own interest, therefore, that we ask
our people to respect the deployment ban and abide by the
restrictions on travel to Nigeria, as well as Iraq, Afghanistan and
Lebanon,” Romulo said.
The Philippines banned Filipinos
from traveling for work to Nigeria earlier this year after 25
workers were abducted in separate incidents. Eight other Filipinos
were abducted on May 1.
All those hostages were later
freed unharmed.
The ban did not apply to the
estimated 4,500 Filipinos who were already working in Nigeria.
--With reports from AFP
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