DFA receives 5 Pinoy seafarers freed by Somali pirates

MANILA, Philippines - Somali pirates released five Filipino seafarers after more than four years in captivity, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Arnel Pregellana Balbero, Elmer Salvador Balbero, Antonio Auxtero Libres Jr., Edwas Akes Tininggal Jr. and Ferdinand Jacinto Dalit are among the 29 crew of the Omani-flagged FV Naham 3 that was hijacked on March 26, 2012 while traversing the Indian Ocean some 65 nautical miles south of Seychelles. 

The five seafarers were received yesterday by DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Jesus Yabes, Philippine embassy in Nairobi chargé d’affaires Uriel Norman Garibay and other DFA officials at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport upon arriving in Nairobi.

They will be turned over officially to the DFA today after undergoing medical checkup. On Thursday, they will be repatriated to the Philippines, where they will be met by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and their families.

“We are pleased that the five Filipinos are now with us and that they are safe. We have scheduled them for medical tests and psychological debriefing to at least start their way to a full recovery from this ordeal,” Yabes said. 

Other crewmembers are Cambodian, Chinese, Indonesian, Taiwanese and Vietnamese seafarers. Of the 29, one died during the hijacking while two others succumbed to illness while in captivity.

The DFA said efforts for the release of Filipino seafarers began immediately after their capture in 2012. Oceans Beyond Piracy, a project of One Earth Future Foundation, spearheaded the negotiation with the Somali pirates.

But due to security issues and the multi-national component of the case, it took a long time for the case to be resolved.