NBI rescues 3 teen girls from prostitution in Laguna

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A 17-year-old girl left her hometown on Camotes Island, northeast of here, last month after an uncle told her that a job with bigger pay was waiting for her in  Manila.

But Carla (not her real name) ended up working as a commercial sex worker in a restobar in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

The girl and two other minors were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during a raid on the restobar on Saturday night.

The two others are both 16 years old and are from  Rizal and Quezon.

The NBI arrested Nelson Lacsa and his wife, Mheann, who would face charges of human trafficking.

Carla’s mother said her daughter was recruited to work as housemaid for a family in Barangay Guadalupe in Cebu City.

But an uncle told her to go to Manila because a higher-paying job was waiting for her.

Apparently, the prospects of getting paid more sounded appealing for the 17-year-old who followed her uncle’s advice.

Last Jan. 4, Carla was able to call her mother, begging for help because she had been forced to work as a prostitute in a restobar.

She told her mother that customers would pay her P2,000 per sexual service but she only got to keep half of the amount because the other half was given to the restobar.

The mother than sought the help of the NBI, which  coordinated with the Cebu Provincial Women’s Commission and counterparts in Laguna to help locate the girl.  SFM