German hostages air health woes

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A German couple held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu said their health is deteriorating as they renewed their appeal to the Philippine and German governments to hasten their release.

Stefan Viktor Okonek, 74, and his wife Henrike Dielen, 55, made the appeal last Saturday in an interview over dxRZ of Radio Mindanao Network. The interview was aired yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP) will deploy today a K-9 unit in Sulu to help the ground troops track down the Abu Sayyaf and the German captives.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, AFP public affairs chief, said AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang ordered the deployment of the K-9 unit to help in the search.

The K-9 company, composed of 10 canines, their handlers and support teams, will be under the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

“Our K-9 unit is composed of trained trackers and bomb-sniffing canines. It will help pressure the Abu Sayyaf to release the hostages,” Cabunoc said.

The hostages said their captors are not giving them medicine. Okonek said he is having difficulty walking and his condition deteriorates every day.

“I have not gotten any medicine and my situation here is not better than before. I’m very weak and I’m imprisoned. It’s a terrible situation,” Okonek said.

He said they are fed mainly rice.

“I came here for a holiday and on the contrary, this is what I am experiencing. I beg my government and the people of the Philippines to try all means to get me and my wife out of here,” Okonek said.

The couple had been on a holiday aboard a yacht off Palawan when they were seized last April by Abu Sayyaf bandits. 

Dielen expresssed concern that they may have contracted malaria as they are sleeping in the jungle.

She said her husband's health is getting worse.

 “He is sleeping a lot and I try to keep him covered and warm. That’s all I can do,” she said. – With Jaime Laude