ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 14, 2011) – Philippine soldiers rescued 7 people who were allegedly recruited and forced into hard labor in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the victims were rescued in the village of Tinggusung in Sitangkai town, but details of the operations that led to the recovery of the 7 men were not made public neither their recruiter.
“Accordingly, the victims were subjected to forced labor,” Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.
He identified the victims as Raymon Dequin, Renan Manluluyo, Ariel Fernando, Jerubin Daquel, Romnick Bederol and Randy Sumilang.
It was unknown where the victims were recruited or if they paid money in exchange for a job in Tawi-Tawi. “The victims were brought to the Department of Justice for processing, helping them pursue a case against their recruiter,” Cabangbang said.
Tawi-Tawi is a notorious haven for human traffickers who use the province as a jumping board to nearby Sabah , an oil-rich Malaysian state off the southern Filipino border. (Mindanao Examiner)
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