11 Pinays saved from Sokor sex den

Eleven Filipino women have been rescued from a prostitution den in South Korea, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel said yesterday.

He said one of them was a 16-year-old who was recruited as a waitress, but ended up as a commercial sex worker catering to American soldiers in South Korea.

"The trafficking of Filipino women in South Korea begins with the local entertainment agencies in the Philippines securing entertainment visas for these women," he said. "Once they have entered (South) Korea, however, the women are locked up in clubs and prostitution dens."

Pimentel said criminal charges have been filed in court against the South Korean recruiters and employers who have forced the women into prostitution.

However, Pimentel said the cases against them might not prosper because the victims have refused to testify.

"The offenders who are now under trial in South Korean courts could go scot-free despite the efforts of the Philippine Embassy and the South Korean authorities to crack down on prostitution and other illegal activities involving Filipino women," he said.

During his recent visit to Seoul, Pimentel said Ambassador Juanito Jarasa told him they could only interfere in "specific cases of abuses" against Filipinos after complaints are filed with the embassy. – Sammy Santos