Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) building in Pasay City on September 5, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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MANILA (2nd UPDATE) &mdash; Four Filipinos on a vessel seized by Iranian forces have been told by their captors that they will be released &quot;soon,&quot; a Department of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday.&nbsp;The four Filipinos are among the crew of MSC Aries that Iranian forces seized near the Strait of Hormuz in an apparent response to an Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria.<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/4/14/middle-east-world-cannot-afford-more-war-un-chief-746" id="isPasted">READ: Middle East, world cannot &#39;afford more war&#39; &mdash; UN chief</a>&quot;Nobody wants to be in this situation but they have been told that they will be released soon &mdash; all of them, all of the seafarers,&quot; DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told ANC, saying that the Filipinos are &quot;fine&quot; and are being fed by the Iranians.&nbsp;De Vega said DFA officials met the Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines, Yousef Esmaeil Zadeh, who said the seafarers will soon be able to return to the Philippines.The official also said that the four Filipinos were allowed by the Iranians to contact their families, and each of them spoke with their relatives for an hour.&nbsp;The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) also had similar updates from the families of the captives.&nbsp;&quot;As of midnight last night, the four families of the seafarers managed to directly communicate via video call with their loved ones onboard&hellip; They also have been told by Iranians who came onboard that they will soon be released, [they] just [don&#39;t] know exactly when,&quot; DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said.&nbsp;Cacdac clarified that the four are not hostages since it is the Iranian government that is holding them in custody.&nbsp;&quot;We know that the four seafarers are safe and sound, they are eating well. They&#39;ve taken to their normal duties onboard the ship,&quot; Cacdac stated.&nbsp;The container ship is currently anchored off the port in Iran. It was seized by the Iranian Navy on April 13 near the Strait of Hormuz while it was en route to India.&nbsp;The DMW has gotten in touch with the families of the seafarers and have assured them of assistance.&nbsp;&quot;Standard natin from the action fund is P30,000 but this will be given at the right time. Kasi ngayon ang concern ng families ay makabalik sila,&quot; Cacdac explained.&nbsp;(Our standard help comes from the action fund which is P30,000 but this will be given at the right time. The concern of families now is the safe return of the seafarers.)&nbsp;The licensed manning agency of the four has also assured adequate payment of salaries and compensation.<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/14/dmw-4-pinoys-in-seized-ship-in-iran-safe-and-sound-2137" id="isPasted">DMW: 4 Pinoys in seized ship in Iran &#39;safe and sound&#39;</a><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/14/dmw-gov-t-working-on-safety-release-of-4-filipinos-on-ship-seized-by-iran-951" id="isPasted">DMW: Gov&rsquo;t working on safety, release of 4 Filipinos on ship seized by Iran</a>HIGH RISK AREADue to the incident, the DMW will recommend to the International Bargaining Forum the declaration of the Strait of Hormuz as a high risk area (HRA).&nbsp;Filipino seafarers may refuse to sail in the said area and be reassigned. If they agree to sail there, however, they will receive twice the pay.&nbsp;The Gulf of Aden and parts of the Red Sea have already been recently declared as HRAs.&nbsp;At least 25 seafarers have refused to sail in HRAs, according to Cacdac.In November 2023, Yemen&#39;s Houthi rebels seized the cargo ship Galaxy leader in the Red Sea taking 17 Filipinos hostage. Efforts continue to bring them home.&nbsp;In January 2024, Iran seized the oil tanker Saint Nicholas in the Gulf of Oman. All of the 18 Filipinos have returned.&nbsp;In March 2024, the bulk carrier MV True Confidence was struck by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden. Two Filipinos died and their remains are still to be recovered. Thirteen others were able to come back to the Philippines.&nbsp;&mdash;With reports from Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News

De Vega said DFA officials met the Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines, Yousef Esmaeil Zadeh, who said the seafarers will soon be able to return to the Philippines.The official also said that the four Filipinos were allowed by the Iranians to contact their families, and each of them spoke with their relatives for an hour.&nbsp;The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) also had similar updates from the families of the captives.&nbsp;&quot;As of midnight last night, the four families of the seafarers managed to directly communicate via video call with their loved ones onboard&hellip; They also have been told by Iranians who came onboard that they will soon be released, [they] just [don&#39;t] know exactly when,&quot; DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said.&nbsp;Cacdac clarified that the four are not hostages since it is the Iranian government that is holding them in custody.&nbsp;&quot;We know that the four seafarers are safe and sound, they are eating well. They&#39;ve taken to their normal duties onboard the ship,&quot; Cacdac stated.&nbsp;The container ship is currently anchored off the port in Iran. It was seized by the Iranian Navy on April 13 near the Strait of Hormuz while it was en route to India.&nbsp;The DMW has gotten in touch with the families of the seafarers and have assured them of assistance.&nbsp;&quot;Standard natin from the action fund is P30,000 but this will be given at the right time. Kasi ngayon ang concern ng families ay makabalik sila,&quot; Cacdac explained.&nbsp;(Our standard help comes from the action fund which is P30,000 but this will be given at the right time. The concern of families now is the safe return of the seafarers.)&nbsp;The licensed manning agency of the four has also assured adequate payment of salaries and compensation.<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/14/dmw-4-pinoys-in-seized-ship-in-iran-safe-and-sound-2137" id="isPasted">DMW: 4 Pinoys in seized ship in Iran &#39;safe and sound&#39;</a><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/14/dmw-gov-t-working-on-safety-release-of-4-filipinos-on-ship-seized-by-iran-951" id="isPasted">DMW: Gov&rsquo;t working on safety, release of 4 Filipinos on ship seized by Iran</a>HIGH RISK AREADue to the incident, the DMW will recommend to the International Bargaining Forum the declaration of the Strait of Hormuz as a high risk area (HRA).&nbsp;Filipino seafarers may refuse to sail in the said area and be reassigned. If they agree to sail there, however, they will receive twice the pay.&nbsp;The Gulf of Aden and parts of the Red Sea have already been recently declared as HRAs.&nbsp;At least 25 seafarers have refused to sail in HRAs, according to Cacdac.In November 2023, Yemen&#39;s Houthi rebels seized the cargo ship Galaxy leader in the Red Sea taking 17 Filipinos hostage. Efforts continue to bring them home.&nbsp;In January 2024, Iran seized the oil tanker Saint Nicholas in the Gulf of Oman. All of the 18 Filipinos have returned.&nbsp;In March 2024, the bulk carrier MV True Confidence was struck by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden. Two Filipinos died and their remains are still to be recovered. Thirteen others were able to come back to the Philippines.&nbsp;&mdash;With reports from Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News

<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/4/14/middle-east-world-cannot-afford-more-war-un-chief-746" id="isPasted">READ: Middle East, world cannot &#39;afford more war&#39; &mdash; UN chief</a>&quot;Nobody wants to be in this situation but they have been told that they will be released soon &mdash; all of them, all of the seafarers,&quot; DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told ANC, saying that the Filipinos are &quot;fine&quot; and are being fed by the Iranians.&nbsp;

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) &mdash; Four Filipinos on a vessel seized by Iranian forces have been told by their captors that they will be released &quot;soon,&quot; a Department of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday.&nbsp;The four Filipinos are among the crew of MSC Aries that Iranian forces seized near the Strait of Hormuz in an apparent response to an Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria.

Four Filipinos on a vessel seized by Iranian forces have been told by their captors that they will be released "soon," a Department of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday.

Four Filipinos on a vessel seized by Iranian forces have been told by their captors that they will be released "soon," a Department of Foreign Affairs official said Tuesday.

4 Filipinos on ship seized by Iran to be released 'soon' — DFA | ABS-CBN News

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4 Filipinos on ship seized by Iran to be released 'soon' — DFA

4 Filipinos on ship seized by Iran to be released 'soon' — DFA