MANILA (November 19) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is seeing “something positive” in ongoing efforts to secure the release of Filipino seafarers held by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said Tuesday.
Lazaro said several Middle Eastern partner countries are helping push the appeal for the Filipinos’ release, although she declined to disclose details of the negotiations. “I was informed that something positive will come out in the coming days,” she told reporters during a joint briefing with visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin.
Nine Filipinos remain captive after their ship, the MV Eternity C, sank in July following a Houthi drone attack in the Red Sea. The vessel carried 22 crew members, 21 of them Filipino.
Shahin said Palestine is ready to extend any assistance it can: “If there’s anything we can do, we will do it.”
Earlier this year, 17 Filipino crew members of the MV Galaxy Leader were freed after 14 months in captivity through Omani mediation following a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel — a precedent that raises hopes for another successful extraction.
