4 alleged pimps nabbed, 60 sex workers rescued in Makati police raid

MANILA, Philippines – Four were arrested and 60 female sex workers were rescued in an entrapment operation by operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) in a prostitution den at Barangay (village) Palanan in Makati City on Monday night.

In a statement, CIDG Police Director Samuel D Pagdilao Jr. identified the suspects through their aliases as Tony, 29; Eric, 21; Arman, 42; Serge, all of 3710, Bautista St., corner Casino Street Barangay Palanan in Makati City.

The CIDG’s Women and Children Protection Division (WCPD), was joined by prosecutors from the IACAT and representatives from the Department Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the entrapment operations, Pagdilao said.

The operation was brought about by complaints from concerned citizens in Makati, said WCPD Chief Police Superintendent Emma Libunao.

A client is usually billed P3,000 for the service of a sex worker, who is being escorted by an errand from the sex den in Makati to a designated hotel in Metro Manila where the worker will meet her client, said Libunao.

The money will then be divided among the handlers, escort and sex worker, with the sex worker receiving only P1,000 from the client, Libunao added.

Most of the sex workers, usually recruited from Davao and other places in Mindanao, are being pimped to foreign clients, said Pagdilao.

At the entrapment operation, CIDG operatives negotiated for the services of three sex workers for P3,500 each. The CIDG and IACAT launched the operation as soon as the handler received the marked money.

The arrested suspects and rescued sex workers were brought to the CIDG-WCPD for investigation. All suspects will face charges in violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.