By Betheena Unite

The promise of well-compensated yet unidentified jobs in Malaysia prompted 13 women to fall for an alleged human trafficking scheme in Zamboanga City, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday.

But just before they could be transported to Sandakan, Sabah in Malaysia, men from the Coast Guard and other government agencies rescued the 13 women from a MV Antonia-1, a vessel owned and operated by Aleson Shipping Line Incorporated.

It was scheduled to depart Port of Zamboanga last December 16.

According to Lieutenant Commander Eddyson Abanilla, of the PCG Station in Zamboanga, the recruiter promised the victims well-compensated job opportunities in Malaysia. However, no specific work was identified.

“The initial assessment also revealed that the recruiter is known in bringing Filipinas to work in Malaysia as prostitutes,” Abanilla said.

Majority of the victims, the PCG said, came from Luzon. After the profiling, they were turned over to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) officials in Barangay San Roque, Zamboanga City for further investigation and case build-up operation.

The joint rescue team was composed of personnel from PCG Station in Zamboanga, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in Region IX, City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) in Western Mindanao.