The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Wednesday that 17 Filipino seafarers were among the held hostages after Yemen's Houthi rebels hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega made the confirmation in an interview with another media outlet earlier.
No other details were disclosed, but De Vega said the government is taking the matters seriously as it may be connected with the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militants.
In a report from REUTERS earlier, it said that at least 25 crew members from Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico, and Romania, were held hostage by the rebels on Sunday afternoon.
The Houthi group previously stated that all ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or carrying the Israeli flag “could be targeted.”
Israel, on the other hand, tagged the incident as “another Iranian act of terrorism.”
