Kidnapped Pinoy sailor home today

A Filipino seafarer who was kidnapped by pirates in the Malacca Straits last week is scheduled to arrive in the country today. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Third Engineer Edgardo Pagliawan Sadang will arrive from Singapore where he was transported after authorities completed their investigation of the kidnapping by the pirates. Sadang’s five companions — Joseph Abrea, Victor Declaro, Glenn Bihag, Jan Kadan San Diego and Jose Patal — arrived in Manila yesterday.

The 41-year-old Sadang was recovered by Thai marine authorities in the waters off the coastal province of Satun in southwestern Thailand along with two Japanese, Capt. Nobuo Inoue and Chief Engineer Shunji Kuroda, crewmembers of the Malaysian-registered tugboat Idaten.

Philippine Ambassador to Thailand, Antonio Rodriguez said Satun Police Colonel Somkiat Jewton, officer-in-charge of the case, had informed the Philippine embassy about Sadang being freed by his abductors.

Sadang told Rodriguez in a telephone conversation that their captors had transferred them to a Thai fishing vessel on Saturday. The captain of the fishing boat then immediately contacted Thai authorities who dispatched a marine police team to fetch the crewmembers.

According to Rodriguez, Sadang and his two Japanese companions have already undergone medical examination and are said to b e in good physical condition. The Filipino seaman expressed his desire to return to the Philippines as soon as possible.

Mr. Tetsuhiko, executive director of Nippon Steel, the company that had contracted the tugboat, informed Rodriguez that Sadang and his two Japanese companions would be taken to Penang before being flown to Manila and Tokyo after the completion of investigations.

The Office of Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs, in cooperation with Sadang’s manning agency, Amethyst Shipping Company Inc., assured that all possible assistance would be extended for his release.