DFA Usec. Eduardo de Vega | The Source - video Dailymotion

CNN Philippines

Two Filipino seafarers are safe after a failed ship hijack off Yemen's coast.  The OFW released by Hamas after 49 days in captivity is discharged from the hospital.  Ria Tanjuatco-Trillo speaks with Foreign Affairs Usec. Eduardo de Vega.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 Welcome to The Source, where we combine the headlines with in-depth conversations with

00:06 the newsmakers themselves.

00:08 Sitting in for Pinky Web, I'm Ria Tanwat Cotrillo.

00:11 Today on the program, two Filipino seafarers are safe after a failed ship hijacking off

00:17 Yemen's coast.

00:19 The OFW released by Hamas after 49 days in captivity is discharged from the hospital.

00:26 Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega joins us in the program.

00:30 And later, the joint air and maritime patrols in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines

00:34 and Australia formally concludes, but not without an incident involving Chinese fighter

00:40 jets.

00:41 Armed Forces Spokesperson Colonel Mendel Aguilar joins us for more later in the show.

00:51 Two Filipino seafarers are safe after armed men attempted to hijack their ship off the

01:01 Yemen coast on Monday.

01:03 Authorities say the attack was thwarted by U.S. naval forces.

01:07 This is the second case of hijacking in the past weeks, prompting the Migrant Workers

01:12 Department to ask its maritime partners to consider expanding the high-risk zones to

01:17 protect seafarers.

01:18 Meanwhile, Jimmy Pacheco, the Filipino caregiver released by Hamas after nearly 50 days in

01:24 captivity following a ceasefire with Israel, has been discharged from the hospital.

01:29 He will continue to recuperate before flying back home.

01:33 Now let's go straight to the source of this story, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo

01:38 de Vega.

01:39 Sir, good morning and thank you so much for being here.

01:41 Good morning.

01:43 All right, sir, first of all, maybe you could start us off by giving us an update on the

01:49 Filipino crew members aboard the MV Central Park.

01:52 This was the cargo ship that was seized by an armed group in the Gulf of Eden.

01:57 Where are they now and how are they doing so far?

02:00 They're still aboard ship and we're going to have them repatriated.

02:08 They were two seafarers aboard a bigger tanker than what was previously taken.

02:15 So, well, everyone's relieved, of course, everyone's relieved.

02:19 I think this was not just a positive development, but an indication that there is a system to

02:27 avoid further hijackings of ships.

02:31 Right.

02:32 This is the second hijacking incident that took place involving Filipino crew members

02:36 over just a matter of weeks.

02:38 How concerning is this for the Philippine government?

02:41 Are we seeing a new kind of trend or modus operandi here?

02:50 We'll definitely be seeing this because the Huti rebels themselves have indicated that

02:56 they will not stop doing it until the Israeli occupation or actions against Hamas in Gaza

03:06 stop.

03:07 So, this is already an indication of what they intend to do.

03:11 And that's why the Philippine government, well, we've heard from OIC and SKAFTAG of

03:18 BMW, has indicated that we would like a special consideration for Filipino seafarers before

03:26 they would be asked to sail in ships using that route.

03:31 Right.

03:33 That being the case, how can Filipino seafarers be better protected in these high-risk zones?

03:41 If you remember, years ago, there were all these piracy incidents involving Somalian

03:47 pirates.

03:49 And that ended when ships started defending themselves or started having high-powered

03:57 weapons to defend themselves.

04:00 And there were even escorts in some cases.

04:02 So this is something for the maritime industry to consider again.

04:08 If you note, this latest tanker did not have any escort or anything like that.

04:15 There were ships nearby, including the US Navy ship, and we thank the US for this, who

04:21 answered the call.

04:22 So anyway, one thing that the seafarers are told, and not just Philippine seafarers, but

04:27 all seafarers, is that there is a protocol whenever they are close to being hijacked.

04:32 There is a place to hide within the ship so that hopefully help would come in before they

04:40 take a hostage.

04:42 And that's what happened exactly with the MV Sandhu Park.

04:45 Okay, so you're saying that two Filipino seafarers were actually able to hide while

04:51 this attempt was ongoing?

04:53 Yes.

04:54 Along with the other seafarers, the protocol was for all the seafarers to go somewhere

05:01 where it would be difficult for them to be seen by the hijackers.

05:05 If you see a tanker, it's pretty big, so it would take time before the pirates come

05:12 in, or whatever you call them, and take them.

05:15 Because they are not really interested in taking over the ship so much as actually getting

05:22 hostages.

05:23 Of course, eventually they take the ship.

05:26 But luckily, the US Navy ship was able to respond in time.

05:33 And you can see that they have more firepower because the hijackers left tried to flee.

05:39 All right, sir.

05:40 Moving on to a slightly different topic, I want to ask about the 17 seafarers who were

05:45 taken I think just a couple of weeks ago.

05:48 Could you give us more information on the condition of those 17 Filipino seafarers held

05:52 hostage by the Huthi rebels?

05:54 It is a problem that we are not able to be in touch with them because the Huthi rebels

06:04 are not in touch with us either.

06:08 So we are just going by their assurances that they will not be harmed because they precisely

06:14 want to give a message.

06:16 They want to send a message to the international community that they are the legitimate government.

06:22 In fact, they call themselves the Yemeni naval forces.

06:28 So we still have to use our diplomatic contacts with other countries and organizations to

06:36 get them out.

06:38 The International Red Cross, the International Committee of the Red Cross, I believe, based

06:44 in Yemen, was telling us last week that their information was that all the seafarers would

06:50 soon be released, but that was last week.

06:53 So we'll have to see what else has to be done because they certainly are not making any

06:59 demands beyond the political demands.

07:02 So we're still targeting their release, certainly by Christmas, I think, much sooner.

07:11 So we hope for the best and of course, if they are harmed, this will engender a reaction

07:21 from the international community, certainly.

07:24 That's right.

07:25 So could you tell us when was the last time that these Filipino hostages were contacted

07:30 and what condition were they in then?

07:34 That was during the first day of the hostage-taking, exactly last week.

07:42 So one was able to contact the family, but later his cell phone was confiscated.

07:51 So the Houthis eventually released some videos of them, seafarers being fed and all.

07:58 But other than that, we don't have really any videos or any contact with them.

08:08 So we're in touch with the family because we're telling the family as well that if there

08:15 are any attempts to contact them, to inform the government as well, because these may

08:19 well be scammers.

08:20 That's a problem whenever there are these hostage-takers.

08:24 There are people claiming to be related to the hostage or the terrorists, if you so use

08:36 the term, or pirates, and say that, "Well, give us money and then we'll release your

08:42 relative."

08:44 These are usually scam artists, but you never know.

08:49 So we'll see if they receive any contact themselves.

08:55 All right, sir.

08:56 Now on to another hostage, Jimmy Pacheco.

09:00 The Israel Foreign Ministry says Jimmy Pacheco has been released from hospital.

09:05 What do we know so far about his condition?

09:08 How is he doing?

09:10 He's getting better by the day.

09:13 If you see there in the video, he's smiling as he's discharged on Sunday.

09:19 The other picture that you're showing there on the screen are pictures from Saturday when

09:24 he was visited by the Israeli Foreign Minister.

09:27 He was discharged Sunday and he's now staying at a hotel near the embassy, paid for by the

09:35 Israeli government, which has already indicated that they will be providing him the same benefits

09:40 that they do to Israeli citizens who have been victims of terrorism.

09:46 He's much better.

09:48 Every day he gets better.

09:51 We do know that he will be coming home around the second week, around December 15 or so,

09:57 third week before Christmas to see his family.

10:01 And the latest word is that now he's reconsidering his previous decision, previous desire, better

10:07 put, to remain in Israel and work.

10:10 Now he is considering the advice of the Philippine embassy that he should stay in the Philippines

10:17 and possibly put up a business.

10:21 He was seriously considering it.

10:22 So we'll hear from him hopefully when he gets home in a few weeks and see what the plans

10:29 are.

10:30 At least he's happy that he's in touch with his family.

10:33 And he's getting stronger and he was not physically harmed.

10:39 All right.

10:40 That is fantastic, fantastic news.

10:43 Was he able to shed light on his experience of his 49 days in captivity and what he experienced

10:49 during that horribly unimaginable time?

10:54 No, because first, they've been advised by the Israelis to hold their peace and not speak

11:03 about their captivity because this will give away details which may harm efforts to get

11:09 the other hostages out.

11:11 I see.

11:12 I think he has some emotional stress about it, emotional trauma.

11:16 He does recall that he doesn't know any other Filipino hostage, aside from himself, and

11:24 that he wasn't exactly harmed.

11:26 He wasn't physically harmed.

11:27 His only injuries were those obtained during the initial October 7 attack.

11:32 Obviously, he's still in some sort of trauma because he saw his employer get killed before

11:40 he himself was taken and had the cuffs.

11:43 So we'll hear eventually from him about it.

11:48 But he's very thankful to the Lord and very thankful to all of us because everyone, Filipinos

11:54 and other nationals, hoped for his release along with the other hostages.

12:02 And he feels fortunate, of course, that he's among the first who were released.

12:06 Right.

12:07 So you mentioned earlier that the Israeli government will be providing certain benefits

12:11 for Jimmy Pacheco.

12:13 On the side of the Philippine government, what type of assistance will they be providing

12:18 him with, if any?

12:19 Well, when he comes home, if he decides to come home, there is the BMWs for Integration

12:26 Program.

12:27 Normally, it gives also the AYUDA package of financial assistance.

12:35 And there is the assistance also coming from other departments.

12:40 DSWD has been giving its own aid package to Filipinos coming home.

12:46 And TESDA gives scholarships to their children.

12:50 And the DOH also provides psychosocial or medical care if needed.

13:01 So certainly, this will be the case.

13:04 And perhaps the president himself may decide to give him something in addition.

13:11 We'll see.

13:12 And I'm sure the nation will welcome him with open arms.

13:16 Right.

13:17 Unfortunately, though, there is one Filipina still missing in Israel.

13:22 Do we have any updates, any more information on the missing Filipina, Noralyn Babadilya?

13:30 Unfortunately, none.

13:32 But we are using our contacts to at least get confirmation.

13:38 Is she in fact a hostage?

13:41 Our same friends from other countries who are shown to seek our intermediaries are hopefully

13:51 getting this information.

13:53 And it may be possible that she's a hostage or there may be even other Filipinos who are

14:00 hostages.

14:01 And we'd like them as soon as possible.

14:03 And that's why we're hopeful for an extension of the current truce.

14:07 The truce supposedly was only up to Monday.

14:11 And now they've released 50 hostages in accordance with the agreement.

14:17 And the other nationals, Thai, Filipino, Russian nationals were not part of the 50 hostage

14:24 agreement.

14:25 They were separate.

14:26 So let's see if there's an extension.

14:30 And hopefully, Ms. Babadilya will be among those.

14:34 Because the alternative would be very distressing.

14:38 That would mean that she was one of those who was killed in the original attack and

14:43 whose body has not been found or has not been identified.

14:46 But you know, miracles happen.

14:49 One of the Israelis who were returned, a child, was thought to be dead.

14:54 But she's back in Israel.

14:57 So let's pray for the best.

14:59 We are in touch with the family in Israel.

15:02 So she has family in Israel.

15:04 So let's hope for the best.

15:06 And the president, of course, has his commitment to this.

15:10 Absolutely.

15:11 Hoping for the best outcome there.

15:12 Sir, thank you for your time this morning.

15:14 We always appreciate it.

15:16 That was Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.

15:19 Up ahead, tensions again rise as Chinese forces interfere with the Philippines' maritime

15:24 exercises with Australia in the West Philippine Sea.

15:27 We speak to AFP Spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar about this when we return.

15:33 This is The Source on CNN Philippines.

15:34 Please stay tuned.

15:34 [MUSIC]

DFA Usec. Eduardo de Vega | The Source

Category

Transcript

Recommended