30 women arrested in raid on KTV bar

Thirty women were arrested by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 after a raid at a KTV bar in barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City, last Thursday night.

Headed by Intelligence and Operation chief C/Insp. Rex Derilo, the team raided Ivory KTV Bar after they allegedly confirmed that it was a front for prostitution.

Police said this was confirmed after a police decoy paid a woman P2,500 for her company and brought her to a motel. Derilo said that only the woman who was paid for sexual services will be charged with prostitution while the remaining 29 women will be filed with vagrancy charges.

Derilo also said they have not identified the real owner of the KTV bar, once identified he or she will face a case of the violation of the R.A. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law.

Meanwhile, Derilo also said that they are disappointed with the Prosecutors Office in Lapu-Lapu City after the dismissal of a case they filed against a karaoke bar in barangay Sangi, Lapu-Lapu City that they also raided last July 19.

XO KTV bar was raided by the police after a police decoy was able to hire one of their girls for P2,500.

PO2 Crisologo Tabares posed as a customer and approached the cashier of the KTV, a certain Pantaleon Pantonial, who allegedly brought him to the showroom were he chose one of the girls and brought her to a motel in Cebu City.

But Pantonial, in his counter-affidavit, said he is just a waiter of the KTV bar and not the cashier, he also said Tabares came as they were about to close and only talked to a certain Ann-Ann Booc before leaving.

Booc said she was just a guest relations officers and denied going out with Tabares.

City prosecutor Evangeline Gicale said Tabares failed to establish indecent or immoral shows in the bar, she also said a GRO is allowed to go out with a customer and what happens outside the establishment is already beyond the control of the owner.

The police also allegedly failed to submit a blotter entry showing the operation and the money used in the transaction. - Flor Z. Perolina