The Philippine government strongly hinted Friday it would approve the payment of ransoms to win the freedom of 26 Filipino hostages missing or kidnapped in Nigeria.
"Whatever it takes ... we will go along with it," Esteban Conejos, undersecretary for migrant workers' affairs, told reporters in Manila Friday. He stressed the negotiations were being handled by Nigeria, and "we have never had any reason not to trust the Nigerian government."
CNN this week aired video of 24 Filipino seamen who were abducted from the German-owned freighter Baco Liner II on Jan. 20. The video showed dozens of militants, dressed in black and wearing black ski masks, dancing around the hostages and firing automatic weapons into the air. The story has been running prominently on Philippine media.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has claimed responsibility for the mass abduction. The militia is seeking more returns for impoverished villagers from the vast oil wealth of the Delta region. --From CNN's Hugh Riminton
Pinoy Pride.
