10 Chinese women rescued from sex traffickers in Laguna

SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna, Philippines — Officials in Biñan City said they would refer to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) a case involving 10 Chinese women, whom they had rescued from suspected sex traffickers supposedly servicing employees of an offshore gaming site in Laguna province.

The women, age between 25 and 33 and from the provinces of Jilin and Hainan in China, were released following a rescue operation by the Biñan police and the city Social Welfare Department at 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Arrest

But in a telephone interview on Wednesday, Lt. Col. Danilo Mendoza, Biñan police chief, said he would have to “write the BI about it,” as the women had claimed they were duped into working in the Philippines as call center agents.

The police arrested and charged Chiun Lee, a Chinese national, with trafficking in persons, he said.

Mendoza said a Chinese woman sought help for the other women, whom she claimed were recruited “some months ago” and brought to a house in Barangay San Francisco in Biñan.

Surveillance

“They were told they would work in a call center [but it turned out] nagbibigay-aliw [they worked as entertainers] only to fellow Chinese,” he said.

After days of surveillance, the police raided the house that was close to a shopping mall and a condominium complex, where a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) was supposedly located.

Mendoza said it was possible that the rescued women “were being booked” for their services by Pogo employees in the area. —Maricar Cinco