Gov't exerting best effort to bring home 7 Pinoys detained in Libya — DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday assured the families of the seven Filipino seafarers who were detained in Libya that the government is doing its best to bring them home.

"Secretary (Teodoro) Locsin met with the Libyan official on the sides of the Global Compact for Migration meeting in Morocco last month. The Secretary reiterated his request to Libyan Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Ahmed Eddeb during a meeting at the Department last week," the DFA said in a statement.

The sailors, taken in custody by the Libyan Coast Guard, have already been visited by Filipino authorities in Tripoli to ensure that they have a lawyer to represent them in court.

The DFA said it is actively monitoring the case and were assured by Libyan authorities that the seven seafarers were in good condition.

This update came on the heels of a recent appeal of the seafarers' kin to President Rodrigo Duterte to help fast-track their release.

The detained OFWs in Libya were crew members of the Liberian-flagged MV Levant and were accused of oil smuggling. — BAP, GMA News