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CEBU CITY – A mother’s plea for help from authorities in Liloan town, northern Cebu, led to the rescue of her 13-year-old daughter and another 17-year-old girl from two alleged sex traffickers on Monday.
Investigator PO3 Jennifer Lapeña, of the Liloan police Women and Children Protection Desk, said they rescued the two girls from a pension house in nearby Compostela town.
She identified those arrested as Warlito Villegas, a 48-year-old businessman from Liloan, and Antonio Bequilla, 54, of Compostela.
Villegas and Bequilla are detained at the Liloan police station pending the filing of human trafficking charges against them, police said.
According to Lapena, a rescue operation was launched after the mother of the 13-year-old girl sought their assistance on Monday evening. She said the mother believed that her daughter had been sold for sex.
An initial investigation alleges that Villegas paid P2,300 to Bequilla to find him a girl.
Bequilla then allegedly asked a 17-year-old girl to look for a girl for Villegas.
The teenager then got the 13-year-old to be with Villegas for the night. /cbb