By MICHAELA DEL CALLAR
July 21, 2014 2:16pm
(Updated 2:34 p.m.) A Filipino construction worker in Libya was beheaded by militants in Benghazi, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
He is the first Filipino casualty in Libya since the civil strife in the North African state erupted anew, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose told a press briefing.
Citing the report of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli and Filipino community members, Jose said the Filipino, whose identity he refused to disclose, was kidnapped by armed men on July 15 and was subsequently beheaded in Benghazi.
“The vehicle he was riding in was stopped in a checkpoint and he was allegedly singled out because he was non-Muslim,†Jose said.
Jose said the Filipino’s kidnappers initially demanded a $160,000-dollar ransom or about P6.9 million in current local conversion, but his body was later on discovered at a hospital after four days.
“The company negotiated with the kidnappers and on the fourth day when they decided to pay the ransom, they received a call from the abductors, saying the Filipino's body is in the hospital,†Jose said, adding the remains were already in a state of advanced decomposition.
“It is possible that he is already dead when the kidnappers were negotiating for ransom,†Jose said.
Libya is currently in a state of civil war. The Philippine government is currently enforcing the mass evacuation of around 13,000 Filipinos there. —NB/KBK, GMA News
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