Militants behead Pinoy construction worker in Libya 

(Updated 3:27 p.m.) A Filipino construction worker in Libya was beheaded by militants in Benghazi, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
 

He is the first Filipino casualty in Libya since the civil strife in the North African state erupted anew and since the first civil war that toppled the regime of Libyan strongman Moammar Ghadafi in 2011, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose told a press briefing.

 

Citing the report of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli and Filipino community members, Jose said the Filipino, whose identity he refused to disclose, was kidnapped by armed men on July 15 and was subsequently beheaded in Benghazi. His remains were found at a hospital on July 20.

 

“The vehicle he was riding in was stopped in a checkpoint. There were three of them – a Libyan, a Pakistani, and a Filipino. And he was allegedly singled out because he was non-Muslim,” Jose said.

Jose said the Filipino’s kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of $160,000 or about P6.9 million. Four days later, however, his body was discovered at a hospital.

“The company negotiated with the kidnappers and on the fourth day when they decided to pay the ransom, they received a call from the abductors on July 20 and referred them to a Benghazi hospital,” Jose said. The body was already in a state of advanced decomposition when seen by the employers, he added.

“It is possible that he was already dead when the kidnappers were negotiating for ransom,” Jose said.

 

Jose said the remains have been identified and that his family in the Philippines have been informed of the incident. Upon the family’s request, he said the DFA will not release the name of the victim.

Libya is currently in a state of civil war. The Philippine government is now enforcing the mass evacuation of around 13,000 Filipinos there.

Jose said all Filipinos in Libya should return home as soon as possible due to the increasing violence and lawlessness, the closure of major airports, and the heightened threat to their safety, particularly in Benghazi.

“The threats to our Filipinos’ safety and security became more imminent,” he said, adding the recent events indicate that it is no longer safe for Filipinos to remain in Libya.  

“We would like to get them out of harm’s way because of this incident,” Jose said. “We are calling for total evacuation.”

The Philippine government has identified Egypt or Tunisia as exit routes for the Filipinos.

As of Monday, 207 Filipinos have registered for evacuation and will be flown to Manila as soon as the Philippine embassy there has completed their travel requirements, Jose said. —NB/KBK, GMA News