RP hand in int'l anti-piracy drive urged to protect Filipino seafarers

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Noli de Castro wants a Philippine presence in the Anti-Piracy Task Force headquarters at the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain, to speed up information-gathering on hijacking and abduction incidents involving Filipino seamen off Somalia. In a statement, De Castro said a naval attaché assigned to the task force would facilitate coordination with the Department of National Defense (DND) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and information gathering on piracy situations. "In cases of hijacked vessels with Filipino crew members, our government needs to establish close coordination with those on the ground such as the NATO naval group consisting of destroyers from Italy and the United States; frigates from Germany, Greece, Turkey, and Britain; and a German auxiliary vessel. We will be able to achieve this if we have our own naval personnel on site," he said. De Castro, the government’s housing chief, is also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Aside from coordination, the assignment of a naval attaché in the US fleet aims to "establish a command" that will provide guidance and safety instructions to vessels with Filipino crew members passing through the danger zone of the Gulf of Aden. He said that presidential envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu had already raised the issue of preparing a "humanitarian contingency plan" to address the plight of Filipino seafarers being held captive by pirates. "Ambassador Cimatu made clear that this is not a rescue operation but only reinforcing the participation of our government in the anti-piracy efforts through monitoring and ensuring the safe release of the captives," he said. "At this point, what happens is that the owners of hijacked vessels are the only ones who get to be informed of the conditions of our seafarers in captivity." But De Castro said the DND would be the one to decide on Cimatu’s recommendation. "I already talked to DND Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and he said that he will immediately look into the matter to ensure the safety of our seafarers," he said. On Monday, the DFA reported that 17 Filipino seafarers have been kidnapped last week by Somali pirates, bringing to 71 the total number of Filipinos held in Somalia since Nov. 10. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV