Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 15) – Thirteen people in Manila and Quezon City were either rescued or arrested by authorities for alleged prostitution during the Valentine’s Day weekend.
On Valentine’s Day, 9 females aged 18 to 34 years old were rescued by officers from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 2 after they raided the Inflorence Spa on Roosevelt Avenue in Barangay San Antonio.
QCPD chief Brigadier General Ronnie Montejo said the women front as massage therapists and offer sexual services, dubbed as “extra service”, inside the spa.
Police identified the spa owner as Ivie Haller. While absent during the raid, Haller will face charges of violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Meanwhile, 4 people including 2 alleged male prostitutes were nabbed by authorities in Manila the next night, February 15.
Officers from Manila Police District (MPD) Station 3 nabbed the pair while they were engaging in sexual acts inside the Macky Tattoo Parlor at Malabon cor. Oroquieta streets in Barangay 336 Zone 34.
After getting a tip from police assets about the alleged “extra service” on the second floor of the tattoo parlor, station commander Lieutenant Colonel Reynaldo Magdaluyo led officers in a raid.
Magdaluyo said the suspects took as much as P1,000 to P3,500 in exchange for sexual services. One of the arrested confirmed this, as well as admitting to taking bookings via Facebook Messenger.
MPD officers also discovered that while being registered with the trade department and having a barangay business permit, the tattoo parlor was operating without a mayor’s permit. Registered as a “wellness center,” the establishment is reportedly owned by one Francis Ambrosio Tan.
The suspects are now in police custody.
