(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a team to help secure the release of the three Filipinos who were kidnapped in Libya.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the team was headed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
Members of the team included Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto, and Abdullah Mama-o, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers concerns.
According to Roque, the formation of the team was upon the advice of the Cabinet.
He said the kidnappers were “militias who are engaged in an armed conflict also with the Libyan government,” so it was “deemed more prudent to work with the Libyan government to see what the demands are.”
Duterte earlier said he would follow in the footsteps of South Korea, who sent a frigate to Libya in an apparent show of force after one of its nationals was also kidnapped on July 6.