15 Filipinos Rescued After 13 Days Adrift Near Sulawesi
Fifteen foreign nationals from the Philippines, including eight children and an infant, are undergoing repatriation processes in North Sulawesi after spending nearly two weeks adrift on a damaged wooden boat in the waters of Buol Regency, according to immigration officials.
Transfer to Manado Immigration Detention House
The group was officially transferred from Palu in Central Sulawesi to the Immigration Detention House in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, according to the Jakarta Globe and Kompas.id reporting. The transfer involved a 24-hour land journey starting Sunday, February 22, 2026, supervised by the Palu Immigration Office.
“The purpose of relocating here is to ensure more efficient coordination with the Philippine Consulate General in Manado, considering the distance from the Palu Immigration Office is quite far,” said Oktavianus Malisan, Head of the Intelligence and Immigration Enforcement Section of the Palu Immigration Office, as reported by Kompas.id.
The group comprises six women, one adult man, and eight children, including one infant. Local fishermen initially discovered the stranded passengers on January 26, 2026, after their vessel drifted for 13 days.
Survival at Sea and Identity Verification
According to immigration statements, the travelers were journeying from Tawau in Sabah, Malaysia, to the Philippines when their boat sustained damage. Muhammad Akmal, Head of the Palu Immigration Office, noted that the adults lacked official citizenship documents but identified themselves as Filipino nationals, while a nine-month-old infant carried documentation indicating birth in Tawau.
Detailing how the group survived the 13-day ordeal, Akmal stated that the adults drank saliva from seawater, while the children subsisted on biscuits they had brought along. “The babies (children) were given biscuits, one piece was split in half,” Akmal said, as cited by Kompas.id.
Photographs circulating on social media depicted the group in apparent good health, posing with clenched fists alongside immigration personnel in Palu and Manado. Widhi Mosakajaya Arradiko, Head of the Manado Immigration Detention Center, stated that his facility has coordinated with the Philippine Consulate General to expedite identity verification and issue travel documents for repatriation.