11 May 2016

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Rene Almendras confirms the release of the remaining four (4) Indonesian hostages late this afternoon.

We thank the Indonesian government, particularly Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, for the very close coordination since this morning. We thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Indonesia for their coordination.

This seamless coordination was achieved because of the trilateral meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia of the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as the Armed Forces of the three countries to combat these criminal activities. END