acting secretary basilio thanks nigeria for efforts to release abducted ofws WHO are
expected HOME ON 28 June; INSTRUCTS EMBASSY TO REVIEW SECURITY MEASURES FOR OFWs 

27 June 2006 — Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Erlinda F. Basilio expressed the Government’s gratitude at the Nigerian government for the efforts at securing the speedy release of OFWs Joseph Viloria Doctolero and Pacifico Fresnido Gajo on 25 June 2006 (Abuja time) as she received the report of the Philippine Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria that the two OFWs are scheduled to arrive in Manila on 28 June 2006 at 4:20 p.m. aboard Emirates Airways flight EK332 from Dubai. 

“On behalf of the Philippine Government, I thank the Government of Nigeria and the employer of the two OFWs for their swift action that resulted in the release of the two Filipinos five days after they were abducted in the Niger Delta area,” Acting Secretary Basilio said.  OFWs Doctolero and Gajo work for Petroleum Geo-Services, Inc. in the maintenance of its oil facilities in the Niger delta. 

At the same time, Acting Secretary Basilio instructed the Embassy in Abuja to look into the existing security measures by employers of OFWs in the Niger delta to further strengthen the protection for Filipinos against similar incidents.  “I have asked the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and the Embassy to discuss with Nigerian authorities and employers of OFWs in the Niger delta various measures to strengthen the security for OFWs especially those working on oil platforms in remote areas in the River State in order to avoid similar incidents in the future,” the Acting Secretary stated.   

In his report to the Department, Ambassador Masaranga R. Umpa said that the Embassy has processed the documents of the two Filipinos, who are scheduled to fly back home to the Philippines tomorrow. 

Earlier, the Ambassador reported that the OFWs were given food and brought to a clinic for medical treatment shortly after they were turned over by Nigerian local government officials to Embassy representatives on Sunday, 25 June 2006, in Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria.    

The Ambassador stated that the OFWs were then billeted at a hotel where they were joined by two of their colleagues and the consular team for consultations and debriefings. (Please refer to Press Releases SFA-AGR-520-06, dated 22 June 2006, and SFA-AGR-530-06, dated 26 June 2006, for the background information.)