By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Authorities have rescued potential human trafficking victims as they increased surveillance in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi, the police said Wednesday.
Maj. Randy Veran, chief of the Tawi-Tawi Maritime Police Station, said the would-be victims were rescued around 4 p.m. Tuesday at the port of Bongao, the province’s capital town.
Veran withheld the identities of the rescued victims, only stating that two are males and the other two are females recruited from different parts of the country.
They were rescued during the profiling of passengers aboard a commercial ferry that had just docked at the port of Bongao.
“We received information from an informant that there are individuals who will be traveling to Malaysia via backdoor on board the passenger vessel, thus the conduct of profiling,” Veran said in his report.
Investigation showed the individuals were recruited and promised good salary by their recruiters who are residents Kampung Batu, Sempornah, Sabah, Malaysia and Bentulu, Serawak, also in Sabah, Malaysia.
They were turned over to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Ministry of Social Services and Development Office (MSSDO)-Bongao for proper disposition, counselling, and stress debriefing.
On Sept. 27, authorities rescued a female individual, also a potential human trafficking victim, aboard the same commercial ferry at the port of Bongao.
Veran has advised the public, especially those who want to work in Malaysia and neighboring countries, to apply legally for protection against human trafficking. (PNA)
