RESCUED. Authorities rescue 10 victims of trafficked persons Sunday (Nov. 6, 2022) in Mapun, Tawi-Tawi. The victims, all of Labason, Zamboanga del Norte, were hired to work in a palm tree plantation and promised high salaries in Sandakan City, Malaysia. (Photo lifted of Police Regional Office - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Facebook page)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Authorities rescued 10 human trafficking victims in a remote town in Tawi-Tawi province over the weekend, an official said Tuesday.
Col. Richard Verceles, Area Police Command-Western Mindanao operation chief, said the victims were rescued late Sunday aboard a wooden-hulled vessel docked at the wharf of Mapun municipality, Tawi-Tawi.
Mapun is an island municipality in the Sulu Sea on the southwestern extreme of the Philippines, located very close to Sabah as well as to Palawan.
Verceles said the rescued victims were all residents of Labason, Zamboanga del Norte, who traveled via the city to Mapun.
From Mapun, the victims, who are all male, were set to board another vessel en route to Sandakan City, Malaysia.
Verceles said when asked for legal documents, the operating team composed of police officers, the Philippine Air Force, and social welfare personnel, discovered that they had no passports or any documents for their valid entry to Malaysia.
He said the victims disclosed they were recruited by a certain Beth to work in a palm tree plantation and promised high salaries in Sandakan City.
However, the alleged recruiter was not with the group when they were rescued.
Verceles said the victims were placed under the custody of the Mapun social welfare office pending their return to Zamboanga del Norte. (PNA)
