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Yasay: Five sailors to receive 100k each after 4-year captivity by Somali pirates


The five Filipino sailors who were abducted more than four years ago and released by Somali pirates last week will receive P100,000 each from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to help them start anew in the country.

Foreign Affairs Sec. Perfecto Yasay made the promise as he adressed the sailors and their families upon their arrival at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Friday.

The seamen came home nearly a week after they arrived in Kenya.

 

 

"Pagdating niyo sa hotel mamaya, DFA officials will be providing you a little cash para makaahon po kayo and adjust," Yasay said. "Each of you will be receiving, with your families, P100,000."

The secretary said the DFA would add to the amount if it was not enough.

Arnel Pregillana Balbero, Elmer Salvador Balbero, Ferdinand Jacinto Dalit, Akes Tininggal Edwas Jr., and Antonio Auxtero Libres Jr. were freed after four and a half years of captivity by Somali pirates.

The returning sailors will also stay at the hostel of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) overnight and have their transportation fares back to their hometowns covered.

Since all five sailors were hired by illegal recruiters, none of them are registered members of the OWWA and are not entitled to OWWA benefits.

However, an OWWA officer present at their arrival said the agency would look into what form of aid they could extend to the sailors.

 

 

OWWA officials will also recommend possible options for psycho-social counseling.

Yasay said the OWWA and the DFA would pay for their hotel accommodations while their families are in Manila.

"Ang OWWA po at ang DFA will provide for your hotel expenses while you're here in Manila, for how long you want to be here kasama ng pamilya niyo, bago kayo umuwi at pati na yung transportation niyo pauwi ay ipoprovide ng gobyerno," he said.

Two Cambodian nationals who were released along with the Filipino sailors were turned over to Cambodian officials at the NAIA.

Undersecretary of Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) Jesus I. Yabes said the Filipino contingency took them in because Cambodia had no embassy in Kenya.

"Ginawa namin silang Pilipino," Yabes said. "Tinurnover namin sa ambasador nila."

He added that the DFA coordinated with Oceans Beyond Piracy, Hostage Support Partners, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the four and a half years it took to release the sailors.

According to a release by Oceans Beyond Piracy, the Filipino sailors will receive "comprehensive physical and psychological support" from the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) to aid in their recovery. —NB, GMA News

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