AUTHORITIES have rescued five would-be trafficking-in-persons (TIP) victims in the province of Tawi-Tawi, the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) said Monday, December 4, 2023.
Rear Admiral Donn Anthony Miraflor, NFWM commander, said the would-be TIP victims were rescued aboard a commercial vessel at the port of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi early dawn of Sunday, December 3.
Miraflor withheld the identities of the would-be victims for security reasons except that they are all males and from Zamboanga Peninsula.
Miraflor said that based on the interview conducted by Rosabella D Sulani, head of the Municipal Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (MIACAT)-Tawi-Tawi, the five were supposed to be travelling for Malaysia via the backdoor channel and were found out without necessary documents to work and travel abroad.
He said their destination is Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia for possible employment.
Moreover, he said the five revealed that a certain Ah Ping, a Chinese-Malaysian, will receive them in Kota Kinabalu and will facilitate their travel to Meqawaki Logging Concession, Sabah for possible employment.
The five rescued would-be TIP were turned over to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in Bongao for proper counseling and stress debriefing before they will be sent back to their families.
They were rescued by a composite team of soldiers, policemen, and personnel of Bongao municipal government in coordination with MIACAT-Tawi-Tawi.