(L-R) Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Presidential Adviser on OFW Concern Abdullah Mama-o (courtesy of his FB account)
MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to send members of his Cabinet to Libya to help secure the release of Filipino engineers who were abducted by an armed group.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said the President takes the plight of overseas Filipino workers very seriously, that is why he is sending his Cabinet members to the North African state to work with the Libyan government to clarify the demands of the abductors.
He said the President opted to abort earlier plans to send Navy frigates to Libya as a show of force similar to what the South Korean government did. Among the hostages was a South Korean national.
“He has since considered the advice of the Cabinet to first form a task force to deal with the hostage crisis in Libya,” Roque said citing the President.
Members of the Cabinet who will be departing to Libya are Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Presidential Adviser on OFW Concern Abdullah Mama-o, Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto, and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Reports showed three Filipinos working as technicians at a water plant in southeastern Libya were abducted along with a South Korean national on July 6.
Several armed groups of Islamist militants or jihadists have a presence in Libya, especially in remote desert areas, mostly targeting foreign workers and diplomats.
Uprisings and conflicts have been common since the beginning of insurgency when former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted from power and killed in 2011. – Marje Pelayo
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