Prostitution of minors alarming in Pangasinan, says DSWD exec

DAGUPAN CITY — Forty-eight minors were rescued from various entertainment joints here Tuesday night by combined elements of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the labor department.

Corazon Layug, DSWD regional director, said prostitution involving minors in Pangasinan has become alarming and the province has actually the highest number of minors working as commercial sex workers in the Ilocos region.

Next to Pangasinan with the highest number of minors being prostituted are La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

Layug disclosed that the 48 minors were rescued from 21 karaoke bars, disco bars and massage parlors which operated as prostitution fronts. At the time of the raid, they were performing in the nude.

Most of the minors, she said, came from dysfunctional families with histories of abuse and violence, while others are from broken homes and have parents with many vices.

"This is the most successful operation in the four rescue attempts made since January," Layug said.

Last November, authorities also conducted a similar operation in Sudipen, La Union and rescued 29 commercial sex workers, nine of them minors.

The DSWD will file appropriate charges against the employers if the rescued girls are found to be really minors, Layug said.