Manila / Geneva (ICRC) –The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
remains extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of its three abducted staff members in the southern Philippines.
Mary-Jean Lacaba, Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter were
seized by a group of unidentified armed men on the island of Sulu on 15 January.
The three have been able to call the ICRC directly and said they were unharmed.
There is no
further information available on their whereabouts or who is holding them.
"We are, of course, relieved to have heard their voices and to know that they are alive," said the head of the
ICRC's delegation in Manila, Jean-Daniel Tauxe.
"We are not in a position to comment further, since our main priority is ensuring that nothing jeopardizes their safety, but it goes without
saying that their families, as well as their colleagues, are hoping for their safe and swift return." The incident has not affected the ICRC's operations in central Mindanao, where around 300,000
people remain displaced due to fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The ICRC and the Philippine National Red Cross Society (PNRCS) jointly assist
around 120,000 displaced people in Mindanao every month with food and other essential items, such as cooking oil and soap.
"The ICRC plans to continue its operations in the Philippines and
fully expects to carry on assisting and protecting those affected by the armed conflict," said Tauxe.
"For the displaced, each day is filled with uncertainty, anxiety and insecurity.
They worry that there will be another flare up in fighting, they're unable to support their families, they don't know when they'll be able to go home again and they have no idea what the
future will bring.
That's a very difficult situation to be in." The ICRC's main activity on Sulu Island, where the three staff members were seized, involved a water and sanitation project
at the provincial jail.
The abduction means that the ICRC will not be able to carry out this specific project in Sulu for the time being.
For further information, please
contact:
Anna Nelson, ICRC Manila, tel: +63 918 683 0184
Roland Bigler, ICRC Manila, tel: +63 918 907 2125
Out-of-hours duty phone, Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 3443
A Filipino Muslim shouts slogans during a protest near the Israeli embassy in the Makati financial district of Manila January 5, 2009. About two dozen protesters marched near the Israel embassy ...
