DFA: Pinoy seafarers held hostage in Red Sea are 'fine'

The 17 Filipino seafarers who are among the hostages in the ship seized by Yemen's rebel group Houthi in the Red Sea are fine, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday.

In a television interview, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Houthi members have been consistent in indicating that they will not hurt the hostages.

“The good news is that we do know that our seafarers are fine and that the Houthi rebels have been indicating consistently that they do not intend to harm them,” De Vega said in an ANC interview.

While he cannot predict when the Pinoy hostages will be released, De Vega pointed out that there have been instances before that Filipino seafarers were taken in Yemen and all of them were eventually released.

“The government is still doing what it can. We're on top of the situation…We'll get them out,” De Vega said.

According to him, some of the Filipino seafarers were able to contact their families.

De Vega said the Houthi rebels were saying that they will continue to do this as long as Israel keeps on occupying and attacking Gaza.

With the four-day truce between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas set to start on Friday, De Vega said the Philippine government is optimistic that it will also lead to the release of the hostages in the ship.

On Wednesday, the DFA said 17 Pinoy seafarers were among the foreigners held hostage by Houthis earlier this week.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has instructed the DFA to do everything to ensure the safety of the Filipinos held hostage in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, an ally of Iran, have been launching long-range missile and drone salvoes at Israel in solidarity with the Hamas militants fighting in the Gaza Strip. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News