QC targets spas with ‘extra service’

MANILA, Philippines — After declaring war on the illicit drug trade, illegal gambling and African swine fever-tainted meat, the Quezon City government announced a new and atypical target on Sunday: spas that offered patrons “extra service.”

Mayor Joy Belmonte ordered a crackdown on spas and massage parlors that provide sexual favors for a fee after the police raided an establishment on K-H Street in Barangay West Kamias on Friday.

Three male massage therapists were arrested at the spa called Epitome Z, according to the city government.

The team that performed the raid was composed of representatives from multiple agencies, including the Quezon City Police District’s Station 9, the Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD), the Social Services Development Department and Quezon City General Hospital (QCGH).

The police reportedly received a tip via text about the spa’s “illicit operation,” and a background check by the BPLD revealed that the establishment had not secured a business permit from the city.

“After receiving confirmation about the illegal activity from an undercover policeman, the team raided the spa and apprehended 14 persons, including the therapists who failed to show any certification to the raiding team,” the city said in a statement.

Belmonte said intensified operations against similar parlors would be done to stem the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and reduce sexual exploitation.

QCGH director Josephine Sabando said the arrested therapists were taken to the government-run hospital so they could get tested for possible STDs.

A Facebook page bearing the same name and address as the raided spa had photos of at least 20 male therapists whom patrons could “reserve.”

It advertised P500 massages and made no explicit mention of “extra services,” but several customers raised it on the page’s reviews.

“Let this be a warning to spas providing extra services that your days are numbered,” Belmonte said after the BPLD ordered the shutdown of the establishment on Friday.

The closure followed a similar raid in San Juan a week before, when Mayor Francis Zamora and Police Col. Jaime Santos, the city’s police chief, closed Zara Wellness Center Spa and Salon on N. Domingo Street.

The spa had been under surveillance two weeks before the raid, and three female and two male therapists were turned over to the City Social Welfare and Development Department following the operation.