THE Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said three Filipino seafarers of the MV Galaxy Leader held by Houthi rebels in Yemen since November last year have recovered from malaria.
DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer said they got the information from the wife of one of the three seafarers.
“We thank the Lord because the three who had malaria are now well and have gotten out of the hospital already. So, that is a good news,” Ferrer said in mixed Filipino and English, during an interview with radio dzBB.
Ferrer said the DFA has also been continuously asking the Houthis through the Philippine Honorary Consul to Yemen, Mohammad Saleh Al-Jamal, to release the Filipino seafarers on “humanitarian grounds.”
“After all, there is a doctrine in Islam about mercy and love and caring also,” he said.
Ferrer said based on an update provided by Al-Jamal, several of the 17 Filipino crew members of the MV Galaxy Leader taken into custody by the Houthis are experiencing health issues, though none are serious or life-threatening.
Ferrer said authorities in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, are providing medical assistance to the sick crew members.
To recall, Houthi rebels hijacked the Bahamas-flagged cargo carrier owned by Israeli shipowner Ray Shipping in November last year in the Red Sea.
The Houthi is part of the “axis of resistance” in the Middle East, supported and armed by Iran to oppose Israel in the region.
The group has launched long-range missiles and attack drones against Israel since the Jewish state launched an offensive against Hamas that attacked it on October 7 last year, and killed over 1, 200 Israelis and foreigners.
The Houthis have also attacked ships plying the vital shipping zones of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, saying it is a retaliation to Israel’s offensive against Hamas.
