Manila, Philippines – It was July 2025, when Houthi militant group attacked a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea.
The ship sank, and the Houthis took nine Filipino crew members aboard.
More than five months have passed since the incident, and amid the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel, the Philippine government continues to negotiate with mediators for the extraction of the Filipino seafarers.
This was emphasized by Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theressa Lazaro during her bilateral meeting with Palestinian Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin in the Philippines.
According to Lazaro, they are in good communication with the countries and the Philippines hopes that there will be good developments in the status of the Filipinos held captive by the Houthis.
On the Palestinian side, Minister Shahin assured that they will provide the necessary support for the Philippines assuring the immediate release of Houthi captives.
In conjunction with the first visit of a Palestinian Minister to the country since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in
1989, the Philippines and Palestine agreed on deeper cooperation.
The Philippines, for its part, affirmed its continued support for the two-state solution as part of its more than thirty-six-year-old diplomatic relations for Palestine.—Alvin Pelobello, Eurotv News