TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that fourteen Indonesian nationals being held hostage in the Philippines are still in good condition.

According to Retno, the government continues to coordinate with the Filipino government to monitor the development of the process to free the Indonesians.

"Based on the information we have received, thank God, they are still in good condition. We continue to take measures (to free them), Retno said in Jakarta on Saturday (23/4).

The minister also said that she continues to have ‘intense’ communication with the Filipino Foreign Affairs Minister and during her five-day working visit in Europe, she said that she continued to communicate with her Filipino counterpart about the measure to free the Indonesians.

For the record, two Indonesian ships -- the TB Henry and the Cristi -- were hijacked on Friday (15) at 10 local time allegedly by the Abu Sayyaf group. The incident came on the heels of the March 26 hijacking of two Indonesian-flagged vessels, the Brahma 12 tugboat and the Anand 12 barge, and the kidnapping of their crews, numbering 10 men in total.

The Abu Sayyaf militant group in demanded a ransom of 50 million pesos (US$1.07 million).

ANANDA TERESIA