MANILA, Philippines – Seventeen Filipino seamen who were recently freed by Somali pirates after more than 10 months in captivity arrived in Manila Sunday.

The Filipino seafarers were onboard fishing vessel Win Far 161 with 23 other seamen from Indonesia and China when they were captured by Somali pirates last April 6, 2009.

Three crewmembers of the fishing vessel, 2 Indonesian nationals and a Chinese national, died in captivity.

The freed Filipino seamen thanked the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration which helped them in their immediate repatriation back to the Philippines.

Arnel de los Santos of Sto. Domingo in Ilocos Sur province, one of the freed seamen, said most of the Filipino seamen are fluent in Ilocano which they used to strengthen each other’s spirits during their captivity, aside from prayers.

De los Santos also confirmed that he heard reports of the $1 million paid by the fishing vessel’s owners to the pirates for the release of their ship and its crew.

De los Santos said that the payment should have not been delayed so that they would have been released earlier.
 
The Filipino seafarers, meanwhile, said that they plan to rest along with their respective families. They said they would still need to decide if they would be still be working overseas.

Aside from de los Santos, the other seamen who arrived were: Ruben Argallon, Sherwin Acosta, Roldan Andaya, Marlon Lagua, Jordan Mamaril, Pedro Calzada, Virgilio Ambabag, Mario Dulay, Jonathan Gava, Allan Baltazar, Jayson Parinas, Sonny Aguilar, Felix Ifurong, Jorwel Oribello, Reynante Gava and Cecilio Labuguen.

The freed seamen were welcomed at the NAIA terminal 1 by MECO corporate secretary Atty Arthur Abiera Jr..