Six women and nine men who authorities said could have been victims of trafficking were rescued from a vessel docked at a port in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

They are from Zamboanga Sibugay, Dipolog City, Butuan City, Zamboanga del Sur, and Sulu.

The 15 individuals were reportedly supposed to go to Sarawak, Sabah via backdoor channel as they were allegedly promised jobs.

Authorities said the 15 did not have proper documents to travel and work abroad.

The Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) brought the 15 individuals to the Tawi-Tawi Maritime Police Station where they were profiled by the Local Government Unit-Local Council Against Trafficking and Violence Against Women and Children (LGU-LCAT VAWC) and Municipal Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (MIACAT).

They were then turned over to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) for counseling and stress debriefing.