4 Pinoy seafarers on seized ship in Iran 'will be released very soon' —DFA

The four Filipino seafarers who were among the crew on board MSC Aries that was seized by Iran over the weekend will be released very soon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday, citing Iranian authorities.

“Kinakausap natin ang embahada doon. At today mismo, 'yung Iranian ambassador kakausapin namin ng Foreign Secretary. Kababalik lang kahapon ni Secretary (Enrique) Manalo,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told Unang Balita in an interview.

(We are talking with the embassy there. And today, the Iranian ambassador and the Foreign Affairs Secretary will talk. Secretary Manalo just returned yesterday.)

“Ang sinabi sa amin ng embahada ng Iran so far, pati doon sa kanila, I will quote, they will be released very soon. Lahat sila, hindi lang 'yung apat na Pilipino. Tignan natin kung magkakatotoo ito at pipilitin natin,” he added.

(What the Iranian Embassy told us so far, and I will quote, the crew members will be released very soon. All of them, not just the four Filipinos. Let's see if it will come true and we will press for it.)

'Good condition'

De Vega said the four Filipinos are in good condition and they were given a chance to call their families in the Philippines. 

“Ang balita, number 1, mahusay naman ang kalagayan nila. Pinapakain sila, healthy sila,” De Vega said.

(The update, number 1, is that they are in good condition. They are fed, they are healthy.)

“Ang magandang balita, nakausap nila ang kanilang pamilya. Bawat isa sa apat, bibigyan ng pagkakataon na makatawag sa kanilang pamilya. Ibig sabihin, hindi sila tinatratong preso o hostage,” he added.

(The good news is that they were able to talk to their respective families. They were given the opportunity to call their family. That means they are not treated as prisoners or hostages.)

On Sunday, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed that four Filipino seafarers were among the crew of MSC Aries, a Portuguese-flagged ship that was seized by Iran.

The DMW issued the statement a day after an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chopper boarded the MSC Aries and took it into Iranian waters, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported, according to Reuters.

Conversation with husband

In an interview on Dobol B TV, "Jenny," wife of one of the four Filipinos, said she was able to talk with her husband on Monday night

"Sabi niya okay naman sila, naka-duty, nakakakain (He said they are okay, they are performing their duty and are being fed)," she said.

Currently residing in Agusan del Sur, Jenny said she learned of the incident when a representative of her husband's manning agency contacted her over the weekend. She also said both the DFA and the DMW are in constant coordination with them regarding updates on the situation. 

She also said an officer from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) had visited her to distribute government assistance.

Jenny said her husband, with whom she has three children, is 51 years old and has been a seafarer for 25 years. —KBK, GMA Integrated News