17 seamen in Yemen afflicted with malaria

The Philippines has sought the release of 17 Filipino crew members of the MV Galaxy Leaders from captivity as many of them were reportedly suffering from malaria symptoms.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, in a July 30 memorandum for President Marcos, said the Sana’a government in Yemen gave medical assistance to the sick Filipino seafarers. The Sana’a government is based in Sana’a, the capital and largest city of Yemen.

Mohammad Saleh Al-Jamal, the Philippine honorary consul to Yemen, has sought the release of the Filipinos on humanitarian grounds due to declining health.

“With regard to the release of the Filipino crew members, the Sana’a government responded that the case depends on external decisions; hence, negotiations and discussions are plausible for their fate and possible release,” Al-Jamal said in the memorandum.

The Sana’a government “will discuss the issue and the case with the specialists and the Presidency of the Yemeni Republic under the Houthi government.”

Sana’a city is controlled by the Houthi rebels, the same group that seized the MV Galaxy Leader while in transit in the Red Sea and took its 25 crew members as hostages in November last year.

The DFA said the Sana’a government has extended medical assistance to the sick Filipino seafarers “by sending specialized doctors to the vessel to carry out necessary medical procedures.”

Its Office of the Undersecretary for Migration Affairs is waiting for the honorary consul’s report on the follow-up meeting between Ambassador Ahmed Omar, head of the Yemeni Consular Department and representatives of the Yemeni Foreign Ministry in Sana’a.

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The request to release the 17 Filipino seafarers came a week after Mr. Marcos said they were unharmed in the Israeli military’s recent strikes on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah in Yemen.

The MV Galaxy Leader and its crew have been held hostage by Houthi rebels from Yemen since November last year. 

In June, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said the DFA is working with foreign governments to secure the release of the 17 Filipinos. In the same month, the Department of Migrant Workers said it will not allow Filipino seafarers to board vessels of shipowners whose other vessels were attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which were designated as “war-like zones”.