11 sex workers rescued in Surigao del Norte

MANILA, Philippines—Eleven sex workers were rescued by the authorities as the women were about to be delivered by a pimp to the crew of a Chinese vessel docked at the wharf of a mining company in Surigao del Norte, police said Friday. The pimp was arrested.

Director Benjamin Magalong, chief of the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the rescue occurred Thursday afternoon in Barangay Cagdianao in Claver, Surigao del Norte, where the ship had docked to load mineral ores.

He identified the alleged pimp as Jessie Laila Montecalbo alias Andrea Pineda, who was caught red-handed while transporting and delivering the women to the Chinese cargo ship M/V Jin Lin.

CIDG spokesperson Chief Insp. Elizabeth Jasmin said in an interview that Montecalbo had been under surveillance for some time.

She said the CIDG operatives, led by Supt.  Randy Glenn Silvio, moved in as the Montecalbo and the women were boarding the ship around 4 p.m. Thursday.

She said most of the woman, aged 22-32,  were from the Caraga region composed of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands, and nearby provinces.

An unidentified person who had allegedly set the meeting and ordered the delivery of the sex workers managed to elude arrest, Jasmin said.

Jasmin said Montecalbo is to be charged with violation of Republic Act 10364 or the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, while the women are now in the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for counselling.