17 Filipinos in Yemen OK even after Israeli strikes
The 17 Filipino seafarers in the custody of Houthi rebels were unharmed during the Israeli military’s recent strikes on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah in Yemen.
President Marcos, in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday night, said the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh reported that all 17 seafarers of the Galaxy Leader cargo ship are safe in Hodeidah.
“I wish to assure their loved ones in the Philippines that our government has not forsaken them and we are doing everything to secure their safe return home,” Mr. Marcos said.
He renewed the Philippines’ call for a speedy resolution of the conflicts in the Middle East so that “no more lives may be lost and all can live in peace.”
The 17 Filipino seafarers have been held hostage for nearly nine months by Houthi rebels from Yemen since their cargo ship was hijacked in the Red Sea in November last year.
Mr. Marcos assured the government is doing every effort to ensure the safe return of the 17 Filipino hostages.
The Houthi rebels reportedly seized the Galaxy Leader and held hostage its 25 crew members, including the Filipinos, in retaliation for Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
Last month, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, is working with foreign governments to secure the release of the 17 Filipinos.
This was after 21 Filipino seafarers of the MV Tutor, which was bombed by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, were quickly rescued within 24 hours after the President’s order to government agencies to bring them home to the Philippines.
The government previously barred Filipino seafarers from being deployed onboard passenger and cruise ships that will pass through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which were designated as “war-like zones.”
On June 25, the Department of Migrant Workers issued a directive that all Filipino seafarers are not allowed anymore to board vessels of shipowners whose other vessels were attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
