By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:18 pm | Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—A Filipino seafarer was killed when an unidentified group of pirates hijacked a chemical tanker off the coast of Nigeria on Feb. 4, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson, said pirates shot and killed the Filipino seaman when they boarded the Pyxis Delta, a tanker registered in the Marshall Islands, on Monday. He was rushed to the nearest hospital but was declared dead upon arrival at the facility, Hernandez said. Eight other Filipino crewmen who were also aboard the ship at the time of the hijacking are safe and are expected to be repatriated soon, Hernandez said. “They are safe and in good health but we don’t have a full report and details about the incident,” he said. The hostage-taking was apparently resolved immediately but Hernandez said the DFA has received only a sketchy preliminary report from the seamen’s local manning agent in Manila. Details remain unclear as to how long the pirates held the ship and how and why they finally let go of the vessel and its crew. The Pyxis Delta is now anchored off the Nigerian coast with its crew still on board, Hernandez said. At least 23 Filipino seamen are still in the hands of pirates on three hijacked ships in Somalia, some already for months, the DFA said.
FREEDOM FOR DOOMED PINOYBy Jerome Aning Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:53 am | Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 Rodelio Celestino Lanuza. FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday expressed the Philippine government’s gratitude to Saudi King Abdullah for donating the P24.9-million balance for the “blood money” needed for the release of Filipino death convict Rodelio “Dondon” Lanuza. “I’m happy to relate that our compatriot has been saved from the execution. This is because of the kindness of King Abdullah,” Binay, concurrent presidential adviser of OFW affairs, said. In a press conference at the Coconut Palace, the Vice President’s official residence, Binay said the government had been quietly working for the release of Lanuza, who was sentenced to death in 2000 in Damman, Saudi Arabia for killing a Saudi national. Lanuza claimed it was an act of self-defense. The Vice President said the King’s gesture of goodwill “once again affirms the strong ties of friendship and brotherhood between the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Saudi government’s “humanitarian gesture” would pave the way for the issuance of the affidavit of forgiveness (tanazul) in Lanuza’s favor, thus formally saving him from execution. “This positive development is a result of the tireless effort and steadfast commitment of Filipinos working together. We hope that as soon as all legal procedures are completed, Mr. Lanuza will finally be reunited with his family,” Del Rosario said in a statement. Del Rosario did Read More …
By Tarra Quismundo Philippine Daily Inquirer 2:29 am | Friday, February 1st, 2013 Rodelio Celestino Lanuza An overseas Filipino worker who has languished on death row in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade has been saved from execution with the Saudi government’s shouldering nearly P25 million in blood money for his victim’s family, the kingdom’s embassy in Manila said Thursday. The embassy said the Saudi government paid 2.3 million riyals in blood money that Rodelio Celestino Lanuza was supposed to pay to the heirs of Mohammad bin Said Al-Qathani, whom the Filipino killed in self-defense in 2000. The amount covered the balance of 3 million riyals (P32.54 million) left after Lanuza’s family paid an initial 700,000 riyals (P7.6 million). Welcome gesture The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the development and thanked the Saudi Arabian government for the “humanitarian gesture.” “This will pave the way for the issuance of an affidavit of forgiveness, or tanazul, in Mr. Lanuza’s favor. We hope that as soon as all legal procedures are completed, Mr. Lanuza will finally be reunited with his family,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said in a statement issued Thursday night. The Saudi Arabian Embassy said Lanuza’s family had appealed for help to raise the remainder of the blood money. It said the Saudi Arabian government made the “royal goodwill gesture” as a result of coordination with Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential adviser for migrant workers’ affairs. Another one on death row Binay is also working to raise P44 Read More …