5 trafficking victims rescued in Tawi-Tawi

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Five men believed to be victims of human trafficking were rescued by personnel of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi on Sunday.

Naval intelligence operatives in coordination with the PCG and the maritime police rescued the victims aboard the motor vessel Magnolia Liliflora, which arrived at the port of Bongao from Zamboanga peninsula, according to Rear Admiral Donn Anthony Miraflor, chief of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao.

Miraflor said the victims, whose names were withheld for security reasons, were promised work in a logging company in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The victims failed to produce travel documents. They were supposed to be met by a certain Ah Ping, a Chinese-Malaysian national who reportedly facilitated the victims’ travel to Sabah.

The victims were turned over to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development Office-Bangasamoro region in Bongao for counseling before their transport back to their families, Miraflor said.