Appeal to free 3 sick Filipino seafarers in Yemen ‘in the works’

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

CAREFUL PLANNING. Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac speaks to the press during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City on Aug. 3, 2024. Cacdac said Manila’s appeal for the release of the 17 Filipino crew members of the Houthi-seized MV Galaxy Leader in Yemen is still in the works. (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – The appeal for the release of the 17 Filipino crew members of the Houthi-seized MV Galaxy Leader in Yemen, especially the three who were hospitalized and are exhibiting malaria symptoms, are “in the works,” the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.

During the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the three sick sailors are currently in a hospital while the other 14 are still on board the vessel.

“As far as we know, they are safe. They are being fed and given their basic necessities on board the ship,” he said, reporting the same for the three other hospitalized crew.

On the immediate release of the three, he said it “is something that is still in the works.”

“The Department Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reached out to the governments that have communication channels with the Houthi rebels and so we, of course, are relying and coordinating with the DFA in terms of the information,” Cacdac said.

The DFA earlier informed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. about the condition of the three.

It onfirmed that the Sana’a government in Yemen has provided necessary medical assistance.

Honorary Consul to Yemen Mohammad Saleh Al-Jamal had also sought the assistance from Sana’a authorities for the release of the Filipino crew members, citing humanitarian reasons because of their declining health.

A planned visit by Al-Jamal on board MV Galaxy Leader is also being worked out, the first since he was allowed to board
about three months ago.

Sana’a, whose authorities control the Houthis, is the capital and the largest city of Yemen.

Based on a DFA memorandum dated July 30, the Sana’a government affirmed that “negotiations and discussions are plausible for their fate and possible release.”

The Houthi hijacked the Bahamas-flagged MV Galaxy Leader near Hodeidah in November 2023 while it was sailing for India and held hostage its 25 crewmembers, 17 of whom are Filipino nationals.

The group has since launched numerous drone and missile attacks on ships transiting the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

“Ang (The) Houthi rebels, they are making a statement with respect to the support sa mga (to the) Palestinians sa Gaza — so we believe that related ito doon sa nangyayari sa Gaza (that this is related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza),” Cacdac said.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 conflict between Israel and the Hamas broke out, the Philippine government had already repatriated 1,100 Filipinos from various parts of Israel, Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza.