LAWMEN rescued 13 victims of illegal recruitment and arrested two “facilitators” in law enforcement operations in Tawi-Tawi, the police said Saturday, September 6, 2025.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Jeseryl Dela Cruz, chief of the 1st Special Operations Unit-Maritime Group, said the rescued victims included six males and seven females, all adults, who were recruited from different parts of the country.
Dela Cruz said the victims were rescued while being transported to various areas in Bongao, the capital town of Tawi-Tawi, aboard tricycles and motorboats on Friday, September 5.
He said the rescue operation was launched after receiving information from the Municipal Inter-Agency Committee Against Trafficking and the National Bureau of Investigation regarding passengers suspected of being trafficking victims aboard a commercial plane bound for Tawi-Tawi.
The two arrested facilitators were not identified pending further investigation. A boatman managed to escape during the rescue.
Investigation showed nine of the 13 victims had been recruited to work as customer service representatives in Thailand under a foreign logistics company, while the remaining four were hired to work as entertainers in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
“All of them admitted that they did not have proper travel and work documents, making them vulnerable to human trafficking,” Dela Cruz said.
The rescued victims were turned over to the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, for proper care and disposition.
Dela Cruz said the successful rescue was the result of continued collaboration between the PNP Maritime Group and various partner agencies to combat human trafficking in the country’s southern border. (SunStar Zamboanga)