Cops ‘rescue’ girls

CEBU, Philippines - A “gay” and 14 women commercial sex workers were “rescued” by the police along Juana Osmeña Street and Gen. Maxilom Avenue last Tuesday night, following complaints from foreign “customers” who were allegedly robbed.

Affected by the demolition of structures inside the Citi Center compound in Barangay Kamagayan, which is known as the haven for prostitution in the city, some of them end up plying their trade in the said areas.

Chief Insp. Romeo Santander, City Intelligence Branch chief, said that they conducted the rescue operation after receiving complaints from customers, especially from foreigners, who had their valuables snatched or taken from them after hiring the services of the women.

He said that local business establishments have also reported that uptown Cebu has become “cheap” with the presence of prostitutes looking for customers along the said roads at night.

“Nahulog pud na eyesore na sila sa area especially during Friday and Saturday nga daghang partygoers. Daghan pud sila nagtapok dira,” Santander said.

He said they coordinated with the Cebu City Police Office Women and Children’s Protection Desk and the Gender Awareness Development group of Barangay Kamputhaw, which has jurisdiction over the area, when they conducted the rescue operation at 10:30 p.m.

Santander said that after rounding up the women, none of whom were minors, they conducted profiling and learned that some of them have already been “rescued” before.

He said that some of the commercial sex workers revealed that they earn P1,500 to P2,500 from each customer, both local and foreign.

“It has become their way of living. Ang customer na ang bahala nila. Usually mosakay na sila og taxicab padung sa motel,” he said.

There was no pimp arrested during the operation while some of the women fled to escape the police.

The rescued sex workers were eventually turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Santander said they would now aggressively monitor sex trade activities in the area also as an effort to strengthen the fight against human trafficking.

“This (operation) should serve as a warning kay I know mobalik na sila. At least karon, mahawan na ang area,” he said.

The Cebu City Government, too, will strictly monitor the said roads and the other places commercial sex workers frequent.

“Mas isub-sub pa ang pag-monitor. Unya we will also inform, specifically ang trafficking commission (Cebu City Inter-agency Council against Trafficking)… para i-monitor sad gyud na nga area,” said City Administrator Lucelle Mercado.

She said barangay officials and tanods were likewise instructed tokeep a tight watch in their respective turfs. She admitted, though, that these women play cat and mouse with authorities.

 “Ang mga tanods naa baya. Unya usahay atangan man lang (They monitor also when the tanods are not there),” she said.

Mercado likewise ordered the Department of Public Services to always check the street lights in the city and make sure not one is busted, as a form of deterrent.

“Ang usa nga among na notice ba naa na sila tungod kay may pagkangitngit ang lugar. Ato ng gitigaan og instruction ang atong lighting nga regularly i-monitor ug katong area bitaw nga patay ang suga, ilisan dayon ang suga (They stay in an area if it is dimly lighted. I already gave instructions to check and replace busted lamps),” she said.

“Ato na silang (i-monitor) kay ang uban tuyuon pa man gani patay ang suga (We monitor them as there are some who intentionally destroy the bulbs),” she added.

Aside from Juana Osmeña Street and Maxilom Avenue, Mercado also ordered that P. Del Rosario Street and Kamagayan be closely monitored also.

June this year, City Councilor James Cuenco mentioned the need for police and the military to conduct joint checkpoints in Kamagayan, one of the places in the city where prostitution is a problem.

“From as far back as I can recall from my youth ‘til today, that part of Junquera (Street) along Barangay Kamagayan has been known to be the haven of prostitution and the den of illegal drugs,” he had said.

Last year, Atty. Joan Saniel-Amit, Children’s Legal Bureau executive director, said the number of human trafficking cases in Cebu has already reached an alarming level.

She had said that based on a 2008 End Child Prostitution and Trafficking data, Cebu City was one of the primary locations of child sex prostitution.

“In 2004 two of the four most common routes to traffic children included Cebu City, which is widely known to have the highest rates of CST (child sex tourism) in the country. Filipino law enforcement cites Cebu City as a pedophile hotspot,” also read a CLB report. —/RHM (FREEMAN)