No ransom paid for 3 Filipinos kidnapped in Libya — Locsin
Teodoro Locsin Jr. -MALACAÑANG PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday said that no ransom was paid to secure the release of three Filipino engineers who were held captive in Libya in July 2018.
The three Filipinos, who arrived in Manila on Saturday, were abducted with a South Korean colleague from the project site of the Great Man-Made River Project in the southern part of Libya.
They were released after ten months.
READ: South Korean, 3 Filipinos freed after captivity in Libya
“No money passed. Not a friggin’ cent. What we had was far better; what we had and have forever were old friends abroad to help,” Locsin said in a tweet.
No money passed. Not a friggin’ cent. What we had was far better; what we had and have forever were old friends abroad to help. Semper fi. https://t.co/SPrqZF8GIn
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 19, 2019
Locsin also refused to take credit for the release of the Filipinos.
Their release was mediated by the UAE, which worked with the Libyan National Army led by commander Khalifa Hifter
“Thank our friends. We had nothing to do with it. I will slap anyone who claims otherwise,” Locsin said in a separate tweet.
Thank our friends. We had nothing to do with it. I will slap anyone who claims otherwise. https://t.co/Zmzpg2Ge9C
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 19, 2019
Asked if the captors should face consequences for their actions, Locsin said that he was just ecstatic about the release of the Filipinos.
“Forget the consequences, we are ecstatic they were given back to us by foreign friends. Filipinos as such are never targeted because they are indeed valued for the good they do wherever they are, like in post-Shah Iran where they stayed and staffed the empty hospitals,” Locsin said in another tweet.
Forget the consequences, we are ecstatic they were given back to us by foreign friends. Filipinos as such are never targeted because they are indeed valued for the good they do wherever they are, like in post-Shah Iran where they stayed and staffed the empty hospitals. https://t.co/NRjxJ95z3s
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 19, 2019
DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs shouldered the released Filipinos’ airline tickets to Manila and provided them with cash assistance. (Editor: Cenon B. Bibe Jr.)
READ: Filipinos held hostage in Libya return home
