MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation will file complaints for human trafficking tomorrow against former congressman Mike Defensor after 54 women were rescued from a Pasig nightclub raided by the NBI in April. Defensor’s wife and daughter were implicated for being president and treasurer, respectively, of Zerrin Development Corp., which operated Bleu Hotel.
The hotel shares the same building as Chicago Nightclub and both establishments are “connected structurally” to accommodate the recruitment and sexual exploitation of women, NBI Director Melvin Matibag has said.
Matibag has accused Defensor of approving suspicious changes to the blueprints of both facilities, noting that he is chairman of Cliffpoint Development Corp.
The NBI will also file charges against Defensor’s daughter, who is Cliffpoint’s corporate secretary, before the Pasig City prosecutor’s office.
The NBI said Lawrence Tan, president of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong, will face solicitation charges as he was at the nightclub during the raid.
Defensor has said that Bleu Hotel has been out of their hands since 2019.
Blueprint changes
Matibag yesterday presented evidence showing that the blueprints submitted by Cliffpoint Square to Pasig authorities in 2014 deviate from the way both establishments are constructed.
Notable among these changes is a fire exit that turned out to be a concealed staircase connecting Chicago Nightclub’s first floor to Bleu Hotel’s second floor.
When NBI operatives passed through that place during the April 21 raid, Matibag said they were led to rooms where customers brought their exploits.
The main entrance of Chicago Nightclub – registered as a KTV managed by Chicago Electronic and Entertainment Corp. – was transferred from the place adjacent to the staircase to an originally designated rental stall.
According to the NBI, this was done so that the point of entry is near Ortigas Avenue Extension.
A second vehicle entry and exit point was opened so that customers will not be noticeable in Ortigas, a financial district that is often crowded, according to the NBI’s assessment.
Matibag showed that the room originally allotted for “Mike’s Office,” as the blueprint indicated, was sealed and covered with curtains, with random items scattered.
“All of the changes that happened led to human trafficking – placing false doors and false stairs, constructing hotel rooms that should have been offices,” Matibag said. “His supposed office is at the back of the stage of Chicago KTV.”
“(Mike) has personal knowledge. This is not an ordinary lessor. He knows everything that has happened. He was the one who consented to the changes in the design to cater to their plan of human trafficking,” Matibag said.