|
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Online petition urges stop to 'prostitution ring'
By Reynaldo G. Navales
ANGELES CITY -- A petition against so-called "prostitution slave camps" run by foreign gangs has been circulating on the Internet, saying the operation has been raking in about US$100 million per month.
The petition can be accessed through the Google search engine by typing "Angeles Philippines."
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
View here the list of local winners
The petition claims Filipino girls are forced to work up to 20 hours a day to service an average of 100 customers a week by operators of the said slave camps.
The petition is urging the government to put a stop to the camps allegedly being operated by the Vorskii Mir, which means "The World of Criminals".
The petition also cited that the Vorskii Mir has strong connections with known international syndicates such as the Japanese Yakuza, Chinese Triads, KLA, and Sicilian Mafia.
According to the petition, the gangs control prostitution, drugs, extortion, gun running, pedophile movies, kidnap and other criminal activities in the city, adding that "anyone who speaks out is quickly disposed of..."
Susan Bryce wrote the worldwide petition, exposing the horrors of the slave camps in the city. About 2,013 have already signed the petition on the Internet.
Bryce claimed that in the Philippines, 30 percent of all businesses in the city pay protection money to the gangs.
She said the gangs are composed mostly of Australian, American, and British national. Lately a Russian mafia joined the group, thus the name Vorskii Mir.
In the petition, it was stated that there are about 150,000 Filipino girls, 30,000 of whom are allegedly girls as young as six years old, working as prostitutes in Angeles City.
"Most of the gangs that run the prostitution trade are foreigners and pay off corrupt police, military, and Angeles City Hall officials," the petition stated.
The petition also said the girls are locked away in a room in buildings guarded by security guards armed with batons, electric prods, and shotguns.
The buildings are surrounded by razor wires just like those being used in prisons.
Bryce also said the gangs pay "bounty hunters" large amounts to kidnap women and children from surrounding provinces to work in the camps.
She said not a single person was ever convicted of the criminal activity. "At election time, the gangs intimidate the poor local Filipino people, telling and threatening them to vote for politicians who support the gangs," she said.
The petition is being supported by the Angeles Human Rights Watch, Angeles Child Rescue, and concerned citizens of Angeles City. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (July 18, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Bogo poll officer wants to move out