By John Rey Saavedra

RESCUED. A photo of a beach during a sunset in Bantayan Island in Cebu in this undated photo. Authorities have rescued six minors and nabbed an Australian at the Hagnaya Port in San Remigio, Cebu while the group is preparing to travel to the northern town of Bantayan Island. (PNA photo by Joann Villanueva)

CEBU CITY – Six minors were rescued in one of the province’s northern towns while preparing to travel to a tourist island along with an Australian national, the police said Friday.

Police Executive Master Sergeant Yuri Colonia, chief investigator at the San Remigio Police Station, said tourist police arrested the foreigner at the Hagnaya Port.

“The foreigner is staying in a hotel in Cebu City,” he said.

Colonia said the minors, aged 15 to 17, were accompanying the foreigner for an island-hopping to Bantayan Island.

The foreigner was not able to present proper documentation like a passport when the tourist police asked for it, he said.

The police is verifying information that the Australian national has a prior record of child exploitation in this capital city.

The rescued minors claimed they voluntarily accompanied the foreigner, but the police cited possible violation Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act that prohibits the transportation of minors by individuals who are not related to them by blood.

The foreigner is now facing legal charges, while the minors are now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas. (PNA)