Pinoy kidnapped in Yemen released

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino engineer abducted in Yemen last month was released Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said in a press briefing that Ramon de Castro, an employee of Aggreko-Yemen’s Ma’arib plant, is now with his employer, Aggreko-Yemen, and his departure from Yemen is being arranged.

He said the DFA is making arrangements for De Castro’s wife and brother-in-law to meet him in Dubai.

The DFA conveyed its appreciation to Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh; foreign affairs minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi; electricity and energy minister Awadh Al-Socotri; and Abdul Majid Al-Sadi, businessman and Aggreko agent in Yemen for their help in facilitating De Castro’s release.

De Castro, 46, works for Aggreko, an international power generator rental firm. He was assigned at a power plant in the province of Ma’arib, 200 kilometers east of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

He and a Sri Lankan colleague were abducted by a local tribal group on April 18. The two were en route to Sanaa for a vacation with two Yemenis when they were abducted. The two Yemenis were immediately released.

The employer received confirmation of the incident two hours after the abduction happened, and received proof of life of the Filipino and his colleague on April 19.

The Philippine embassy in Riyadh learned about De Castro’s abduction on April 26, through its team detailed in Sanaa led by Vice Consul Paul Saret, and from the regional operations office of Aggreko based in Dubai, which informed Charge d’Affaires Ezzedin Tago.

The abductors demanded government services such as jobs and a school and electricity. The Yemeni government, leaders of other neighboring tribal leaders in Ma’arib, and other provincial leaders helped convince the local tribe to release the Filipino.