OFWs in Nigeria flying home

They are coming home.

The 24 kidnapped Filipino workers, who were released last Tuesday by Nigerian gunmen, are expected to return to Manila on Saturday.

President Arroyo yesterday thanked Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo for personally working for the release of the Filipino seafarers, who were taken hostage by separatist rebels on Jan. 20, even as officials maintained that no ransom was paid for their freedom.

The Filipinos are employed by German shipping firm Baco Liner.

In her speech at the induction of officers of the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce Inc. (PCCI), Mrs. Arroyo said: "From the start, we never doubted the capability of the Nigerian government to rescue our workers."

"I would like to personally thank Nigerian President Obasanjo for taking a direct had in the release of our nationals, even as I pray for the eventual release of those still held," she said.

"I’m glad to learn that the released (seafarers) are all well and may soon be reunited with their families," she said.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said a telephone call is being arranged between Mrs. Arroyo and Obasanjo so the two leaders can discuss the incident and issues involving Filipinos working in Nigeria.

The government last month imposed a temporary ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Nigeria following the successive abductions of Filipinos, mostly seafarers, since last year.

He disclosed that, "since day one" of the hostage crisis, Obasanjo "transmitted messages" to Mrs. Arroyo, assuring her of the Nigerian government’s efforts to secure the safe release of the Filipinos.

Mrs. Arroyo commended the country’s diplomats, particularly Ambassador to Nigeria Maranga Umpa, "for being focused and faithful to their tasks."

She said she was able to speak to Umpa and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos, who is also in the capital city of Abuja to receive the freed hostages, and said she was apprised of the latest developments.

Ermita said the government did not pay any ransom to secure the release of the captive Filipino ship crew, adding that the incident was closely monitored by the government. According to Ermita, the reported news blackout on the incident should be lifted.

"In situations like this, it is always the employers (who are) heavily involved in this and this has been closely monitored. The Philippine government had nothing to whatsoever with the disbursing or releasing any amount to cause their release," Ermita said.

The 24 Filipino seamen were seized on Jan. 20 by gunmen from a Nigerian-flagged, German-owned cargo ship Baco-Liner 2 off the coast of Nigeria.

The Nigerian government gave no details of the deal that led to the release of the hostages, saying only that they were being taken back by ferry to Warri, the capital of Delta State.

Although it is still unclear which group was responsible for the seizure, a high-profile militant group in Niger Delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), blamed a rival group.

The fate of two other Filipinos taken hostage last week remains unknown.

A Filipina woman was abducted on Feb. 7 in nearby Port Harcourt in Rivers State, while a Filipino employee of Netco Dietsmann – the Nigerian arm of a Monaco-based oil services company – was seized from a company car heading for the airport in Owerri, the capital of Imo State a day earlier. She was identified as Josie Foroozan and her kidnapping did not involve any political demands.

Filipino instrumentation engineer Winston Helera, 51, was kidnapped on Feb. 6 in Owerri. Helera works for Shell subcontractor Netcodeietsmann.

After the 24 seamen were kidnapped, President Arroyo ordered a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Nigeria.

The Philippines maintains that negotiators for the release of the captive Filipinos should exhaust all means for the hostages’ release. However, the Philippines will also not oppose the measures the Nigerian government may deem necessary in obtaining the release of the Filipina.

Conejos earlier hinted that the Philippine government is open to all options, including the payment of ransom by the Nigerian government, to the kidnappers.

Nigeria is one of the biggest employers of Filipino workers in Africa, with some 3,900 Filipinos employed there at the end of 2006.

The Philippines is one of Asia’s biggest exporters of manpower, with an estimated eight million of its citizens working as maids, seafarers, oil rig workers and in other labor-intensive jobs. – Paolo Romero, Pia Lee Brago and AFP