MEMBERS of the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) rescued seven women from the La Esperanza Foot and Body Massage on F. Ramos St. and six women from its branch on M.J. Cuenco Ave. on Saturday night, Dec. 14, 2019.
They arrested the manager of both establishments.
So what were the women—and yes, they were all women since they were of legal age --rescued from? I guess, that’s the question lurking at the back of many people’s minds.
Were they kept under lock and key? Were they shackled to the floor? Were they prevented from leaving the establishments?
The answers are no. They were not. They were there for one thing and that was to earn a living. And what did they do exactly? I’m sure many of you are wondering.
Let’s see. They probably offered all kinds of massages since they were working in a massage parlor unless, of course, they also accepted laundry. Although water would be hard to come by, even now, seeing to it that the metro is in the middle of a water crisis...
What? It can happen. Times are hard and it’s the holiday, family and loved ones are expecting gifts.
Anyway, I’m sure the women are well-versed in the mysterious arts of easing away the aches and pains of the body and, well, feet. They are, after all, professionals. I’m sure they can produce their certification from Tesda or wherever it is they trained to become professional massage therapists if you ask them to.
So why then were they rescued? And why will the police investigate them with the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7?
I mean, you don’t save someone only to subject them to a probe. It kind of defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it? Unless the women are into that kind of thing, then it’s none of my business or anybody else’s, for that matter. The last time I checked, we still lived in a free country.
So what did they do wrong?
According to Lt. Erlinda Mayam, head of the WCPD-CCPO, they received information that the women they rescued were engaged in offering “extra services.”
Well, there you go. I knew they also accepted laundry. They also probably did manicures and pedicures and sold insurance on the side because when you’re dealing with nail clippers and files it’s probably prudent to have one.
Ha? Not that kind of services? What then?
One of the women they rescued said that for a minimum of P500, they helped customers achieve a “happy ending.” But isn’t that what we all want; an escape from all the terror, the destruction and the inhumanity that surround us.
I read the police decoy paid P1,200 for his. Hmm. I wonder what he wanted.