President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the deployment of naval liaison officers to work closely with the US fleet in rescuing Filipino seamen held hostage by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden . Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in an interview over DZRB Radyo ng Bayan that the government has lined up efforts to comply with the United Nation (UN) Security Council resolutions against international piracy. Remonde said Arroyo ordered the Department of National Defense to dispatch naval liaison officers to work closely with the US Navy Fleet based in Manama, Bahrain, as the Philippine contingent to the US fleets that will patrol the pirate-infested seas off Somalia. He did not say if the Philippines has already coordinate with the US fleet in Bahrain has on this plan. “We are stepping up efforts for the release of 100 seamen still being held hostage by the Somali pirates and are closely working with manning agencies and shipowners who are in direct contact with the pirates,” Remonde said. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday there are still 105 Filipino seamen being held by pirates in Somalia. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has issued a ban on deployment of Filipino seamen to ships passing the Gulf of Aden or sea lanes within 200 nautical miles (300 kms) off Somalia. The Philippines has requested foreign ships carrying Filipino seafarers to follow the security cordon or travel with ships dispatched the National Atlantic Treaty Organization to patrol the seas off Somalia.
