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MANILA (UPDATED) - The Philippine Coast Guard rescued 139 alleged human smuggling victims on board a ship docked in the town of Orion in Bataan early Tuesday morning.
Capt. Armand Balilo, Coast Guard spokesman, said the passengers rescued from the cruise ship MV Forever Lucky were illegally recruited from different provinces to work in the vessel.
The ship was about to depart for Micronesia when the members of the Coast Guard, along with operatives from the National Bureau of Immigration, arrived at around 1:00 a.m., Balilo said.
The people in charge of the ship produced falsified permits, the Coast Guard reported, adding that they were not able to show a certificate of public convenience, franchise papers, or manifest.
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The 41 apprehended crew of MV Forever Lucky, a ship owned and operated by Fahrenheit Company Ltd., were placed under the custody of Coast Guard and NBI for processing at Port of Orion.
Fahrenheit Co. Ltd., meanwhile, denied the accusation.
"To set the record straight, Fahrenheit Co. Ltd. is categorically and strongly denying these false claims. In no way, or in any form whatsoever, is Fahrenheit Co. Ltd. involved in human trafficking, human smuggling or illegal recruitment," the company said in a statement released July 27.
“We are in the business of port operations and other related businesses for the past 20 years. We have been operating as a law-abiding and responsible business entity. We would not sacrifice our untarnished reputation just to be involved in illegal activities especially in something as grave as human smuggling,” said Isagani C. Cabrera, president of Fahrenheit Co. Ltd. “M/V Forever Lucky was not even scheduled to depart anywhere since at that night of July 3, there were some repairs being done in the ship.”
Fahrenheit Co. Ltd. said the case against their president, Cabrera, was later downgraded to illegal recruitment because "there was no compelling reason or evidence to charge them for human smuggling or human trafficking."
It added that the Department of Justice, on July 9, dismissed the case "for lack of probable cause," the company said. --report from Dennis Datu, ABS-CBN News
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