2 foreign vessels seized in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - Maritime authorities intercepted yesterday two foreign ships off Canabungan Island in Balabac, Palawan.

Western Command (Wescom) chief Rustom Peña said a joint operation of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Navy and a special unit in Balabac resulted in the seizure of M/L Rancel and an unnamed ship, both carrying passengers without proper documentation.

Peña said that M/V Rancel was carrying 22 passengers not listed in its manifest while the unnamed ship was carrying 29 others. The groups were believed to have come from Kudat, Malaysia and were on their way to Buliluyan in Bataraza, Palawan.

However, in a follow up report, Peña said the apprehended passengers claimed they were Filipino Muslims from Mindanao who are working in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

The passengers claimed they were on their way to a pilgrimage to Mecca and that their passports were with the organizer of the trip in Malaysia.

Peña said in a phone interview that the undocumented passengers were sent to Puerto Princesa City as ordered by Palawan Gov. Abraham Mitra.

Mitra said the Provincial Council for Illegal Entrants would investigate the group. He said a supposed document from the Office of the President presented by the group was “spurious.”

“We would like to uncover the people behind this scam who use our province as a backdoor for human smuggling. While we welcome and invite tourists with open arms, we don’t welcome sinister operations like this in Palawan and hope that people behind this will be put to jail the soonest possible time,” Mitra said.