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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 17 Filipino trafficking victims repatriated – BI

17 Filipino trafficking victims repatriated – BI

Published Oct 28, 2025 02:44 pm
Seventeen Filipino human trafficking victims have returned to the Philippines from Malaysia, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
In a statement, the BI said the 17 Filipinos arrived last Oct. 25 in Zamboanga City on board the MV Antonia.
They are now under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other partner agencies for assistance and debriefing, it said.
Among those repatriated were a father, a mother, and their two sons, also said.
The BI said “the father had been promised work as a plantation farmer in a palm oil company in Malaysia with a salary of 2,000 Malaysian Ringgit per month.”
His family followed him thereafter but they sought help after two years when their employer started to abuse them.
They left the Philippines in 2023 on board a speedboat at the country’s backdoor in Jolo, Sulu, the BI said.
It also said the six other victims confessed that they “each paid 1,700 Malaysian Ringgit for illegal passage across the border.”
Upon arrival in Malaysia, the BI said the six victims jumped into the sea near the port to evade detection by local authorities before being employed as undocumented workers in the same plantation owned by a Chinese national.
It added that the other victims also entered Malaysia through the same irregular route in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Many of the victims were detained for five months prior to their repatriation, it also said.
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