The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has rescued two Filipina victims of human trafficking at the Zamboanga International Seaport.
In a statement released on Saturday, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco and Travel Control and Enforcement Unit head Ann Camille Mina revealed that the two victims, aged 43 and 40, attempted to depart to Sandakan, Sabah via MV Antonia I.
Initially, the two claimed to travel for vacation separately, but upon further inspection admitted that they were bound for Lebanon to work as household service workers.
They flew from Manila to Zamboanga, where they were instructed to ride the vessel to Sandakan.
Moreover, they said they were advised to stay in Malaysia for a day while waiting for their visa before they fly out to Lebanon.
Tansingco noted that “these traffickers are now attempting to use other ports to evade strict security checks, thinking we have no presence there. As part of the IACAT, it is our duty to intercept such cases in order to protect our kababayans from harm.”
The two were turned over to the Zamboanga Sea-Based Anti-Trafficking Task Force of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on March 27 for assistance in filing cases against their recruiters.
