5 Filipinos released in Yemen

MANILA, Philippines - The five Filipinos who were abducted with 21 other hospital personnel in Saada, Yemen last week have been released, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed yesterday.

In a report to the DFA, the Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia said the five Filipino hospital workers were travelling with some Egyptian doctors and other hospital staff of different nationalities when their captors struck at a mountainous pass in Sufian, outside the center of Saada.

Released were Rosan Agfuna, Jerry Boy Forteza, Alvin Francisco, Candelaria Gucio, and Marydon Torres. The Filipinos are personnel of the Al-Salam Hospital. 

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor said the embassy learned that the Yemeni husband of one of the abducted Filipino workers sought the assistance of the tribal chieftain in Sufian who was able to establish contact with the leader of the group’s abductors. After successful negotiations with the captors by the sheikh and some government officials, the five Filipinos were released and returned to the Al-Salam Hospital.

Villamor said the embassy will raise the latest kidnapping incident with concerned Yemeni authorities during a meeting. He will also reiterate the Philippine government’s request for the Yemeni government’s continued support and assistance in ensuring the safety and protection of Filipino workers in Saada and other parts of the country.

Kidnapping incidents involving Western tourists are being conducted by locals to draw attention from the international community, particularly Western donor countries, to their neglected plight and to secure political and economic trade-offs from the government.

Last year, the embassy expressed serious concern to the Yemeni government, through the Yemeni embassy in Riyadh, over the safety of Filipino workers at the height of the fighting between the Yemeni military and Al-Houthi rebels and the tension in Sana’a over successive terrorist attacks against foreign missions and private companies.

At the Al-Salam Hospital alone, there are about 80 Filipino workers employed.