
Six alleged human trafficking victims were rescued by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi while en route to Malaysia to work without pertinent documents, the PCG reported on Monday, Sept. 4.
The PCG said the victims – four females and two males – were travelling onboard MV Everqueen of Asia last Sept. 1 when they were intercepted by a sea marshal.
The passenger ferry, operated by Everlines Shipping Company, departed Port of Siasi in Sulu en route to the Port of Bongao.

The PCG station in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) received a call from a duty sea marshal onboard the passenger ferry who bared that there were passengers intercepted due to a possible case of human trafficking.
According to the PCG, the victims admitted in an interview that they were travelling to Kunnak and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia via a backdoor channel without the necessary documents to work.
The victims were brought to the Tawi-Tawi Maritime Police Station for documentation.
They were eventually turned over to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) Bongao for counselling and stress debriefing.