MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has convicted a pimp for peddling eight women for sexual services.
Jerome Zamora was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P2 million.
He was found guilty of violating Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, chairperson of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), lauded the recent conviction of a human trafficker - the fifth since January.
Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who supervises IACAT, attributed the success in the drive against human trafficking in the country to the collaboration of law enforcement agencies, including the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Zamora was arrested in June last year in a joint operation of CIDG, DSWD and IACAT.
Eight women, including two minors, were rescued during the raid in Quezon City. The women admitted they were peddled by the accused for sexual services.