Italian sex workers arrested

The Caloocan City police intelligence unit arrested on Thursday night two suspected commercial sex workers, who gave Spanish-sounding names, inside a popular restaurant along EDSA in Caloocan City.

Also nabbed in an entrapment operation at around 7:30 Thursday night was the alleged pimp, Dominador Talavera, 25, a family driver.

The two women who gave their names as Kelly Trojillo, 19, and Diana Carolina Lopez, 20, were later turned over to the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) to determine the legality of their stay in the Philippines. Despite their names, Talavera said the two women were Italian nationals.

Trojillo and Lopez, who could not speak either Tagalog or English, could not show any travel documents.

Presented before Mayor Rey Malonzo, the duo, who gave their address at Cityland Condominium in Pasong Tamo, Makati City, were arrested inside Barrio Fiesta Restaurant in EDSA by a team led by Chief Inspector Florencio Ortilla, who posed as one of two customers. The other one was an unnamed Fil-Chinese.

Ortilla said they have been monitoring the activities of the two women after they received a tip that they were high-class commercial sex workers who had several politicians and high ranking government officials as their customers.

Caloocan Police chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said the duo were collared by his men as soon as Talavera received the P2,000 marked money for the sex services.

Mantele said the duo, who had a companion left at their Makati condominium, allegedly received as high as P25,000 for every customer. – Jerry Botial