MANILA – The Philippine Navy said on Saturday it is preparing appropriate response to the kidnapping of three overseas Filipino workers and a South Korean national in Libya on July 6.
“Pursuant to the directive of the Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Philippine Navy, composed of Fleet-Marine component, is planning for the appropriate force package as response to the kidnapping,” Navy spokesman Commander Jonathan Zata said in a statement.
The Navy initially directed its liaison officer Captain Donn Miraflor – who is attached to the Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain – to coordinate with Charge d’ Affaires Boy Melicor in Tripoli, Libya.
“Based on the preliminary information he gathered this morning, the Libyan authorities have been exerting all efforts for the past month to ascertain the identity of the perpetrators and for the recovery of the kidnapped nationals,” Zata said.
Duterte earlier said he considers the deployment of a Navy frigate in response to the kidnapping of the Filipino workers.
The same was done by the South Korean government.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Saturday expressed support to Duterte’s plan.
“Yes, we support. South Korea did that. And likewise we should show our solidarity and [that] we are serious for the freedom of Filipino abductees,” Bishop Ruperto Santos of the CBCP said.
Zata added, “As the Navy completes the facts on the ground, it is also preparing for the deployment of a Naval Task Group to assist the Department of Foreign Affairs in the situation in Libya.” (With a report from PNA/PN)
