POLICE arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly selling minors for sex in Mananga 2, Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City.
A 12-year-old girl was rescued from the suspect, Marvin Dialel Banguiso, who is also known as Fatima.
The suspect reportedly forced the minors to sniff shabu before offering them to his customers, mostly for P1,500.
Supt. Aileen Recla, the city police chief, said Banguiso allegedly started trafficking minors last year and most of his victims are neighbors and vagrants. The suspect admitted he is a junkie, but was included in the Oplan Tokhang.
“Some of his victims are from Naga City and Minglanilla who went to Mananga with their friends. He would befriend them first and convince them there is money in the business,” Recla said in Cebuano.
Banguiso’s alleged sex trafficking activities were known after City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) personnel kept the minors from roaming the streets. During the interviews, the minors divulged they were sold for sex by the suspect.
The team from the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) led by Recla conducted the operation against the suspect.
Banguiso was caught in an entrapment.
Minor
“The case against the suspect is aggravated by the fact that his victim is a minor,” said Recla in Cebuano.
A complaint for violating Republic Act (RA) 9208 (the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act) as amended by RA 10364 will be filed against the suspect before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office.
Under RA 9208, a person is prohibited “to recruit, transport, transfer; harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.”
The law was amended through RA 10364, which does not give offenders the confidentiality clause they enjoyed while RA 9208 was in effect. The amended version also gives people who rescue trafficking victims immunity from suits.