Cops save 9 women from sex den in Palawan town

WEEKS of undercover work led to the rescue of nine women who would have ended up as sex workers in bars frequented by foreigners in Coron, Palawan.

The operation was carried out the other day by the Valenzuela City police based on the information provided by three policewomen who had applied as guest relations officers in two bars found in one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

Senior Supt. Eric Serafin Reyes, city police chief, said the nine women with ages ranging from 17 to 29 were rescued at a port in Manila while their recruiter, Neville Tarinay Tañag, also known as KY, a 30-year-old resident of Barangay Talipapa in Quezon City, was arrested.

He was reported to be the son of Gloria Tarinay Tañag alias Mommy Glo, the alleged owner of the bars.

The operation was planned right after a woman escaped from one of the bars in Coron in March and reported her experience to the City Social Welfare and Development Office of Palawan.

When the agency raided the bars after a few days, among those rescued were three minors from Arkong Bato in Valenzuela.

“A staffer from Councilor Cecil Mayo got in touch with the CSWDO of Valenzuela, who in turn referred the case to us,” PO3 Lorena Hernandez, officer in charge of the Valenzuela police Women’s and Children’s Protection Desk, told the Inquirer.

After the three minors were sent back to Valenzuela, they reported their experience to the police and identified the Tañags and a certain Ate Melay as the operators of the sex dens.

The police later identified Melay as Melanie Abinir, 29, a resident of Panghulo, Obando, in Bulacan province. Abinir was reportedly in charge of recruiting women from Valenzuela City.

“Judging from the places where the nine rescued victims came from—Cavite, Laguna, Caloocan, Bulacan, Malabon and Valenzuela—we suspect [that the group has] a wide reach,” Hernandez said.

One of the women who were rescued admitted that she had worked in the bars before. She added that she earned a minimum of P1,000 per customer.

According to her, they were made to work from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and that their customers included both foreigners and Filipinos.

The police said the Tañags and Abinir would be charged with trafficking.