President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a “high-level” Cabinet-led task force to deal with the Libyan government and aid in the efforts to recover two kidnapped Filipinos by Libyan militias, the Palace said Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the President, who originally planned to send frigates as a show of force to the kidnappers, considered the advice of his Cabinet members during their 28th meeting on Tuesday.
“He has since considered the advice of the Cabinet to first form a task force headed by the Foreign Secretary [Alan Peter Cayetano] and composed of Muslim members of the Cabinet including Secretaries [Abdullah] Mamao, [Abul Khayr Dangcal] Alonto, and even Labor Secretary [Silvestre] Bello III to deal with the hostage crisis in Libya,” Roque said.
“The problem that complicates this latest case of kidnapping is that the kidnappers are not state agents of Libya. They are militias who are engaged in an armed conflict also with the Libyan government.”
Roque said the Cabinet deemed it more prudent to work with the Libyan government to know the demands of the abductors.
The Filipinos, together with a Korean national, were abducted as they were working for a water company in Libya.
Roque said Libya considers water as equally important as oil.
“When they [Koreans] said that everything has to be done to secure their [hostages] release, we are actually exerting pressure to the Libyan government given the fact that they [the kidnappers] have threatened to leave the ongoing water project in Libya which was deemed to be very important in their country,” Roque said.
“So, the status right now is that we have formed a high-level all-Cabinet member team to deal with the Libyan government and help in the effort to recover two of our countrymen who were kidnapped together with a South Korean national.”
Last Friday, the President asked to send two frigates to Libya in order to secure the release of two Filipino engineers.
“The Koreans have sent a ship. You know I am not joking. I will also send one if they begin to hurt the Filipinos there. I will send a frigate…I will send two. You fools,” Duterte said Friday night in his speech in Bukidnon.
It was reported that the South Korean government deployed a warship as a show of force.