FOR allegedly pimping three Filipino women, a male Korean national and a Filipino woman have been arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cebu District Office (Cebdo).
The arrest happened in the suspects’ rented house in Lapu-Lapu City on March 23, 2023.
The suspects underwent an inquest proceeding for violation of Republic Act 10364, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office.
However, both were released on March 28 because they were arrested without a warrant. A warrantless arrest occurs when law enforcers personally witness or have personal knowledge of the crime committed by a suspect.
The prosecutor’s office has asked the NBI Cebdo to gather and submit additional evidence against the suspects for the case. The case against the suspects will undergo preliminary investigation, during which the prosecutor will require them to submit their counter-affidavits.
The NBI Cebdo said the Korean national’s illegal activity started last year.
Before the arrest happened, the NBI Cebdo had learned that the Korean national offered tours to his clients, but in reality, he was allegedly facilitating sexual transactions with tourists by collaborating with a Filipino woman who acted as a pimp (bugaw).
The pimp communicated with the female recruits through group chat. For each woman she hired, she received a fee of P4,000 from the Korean national.
Senior Investigator Bienvenido Panican, NBI Cebdo executive officer for operation, told reporters on Wednesday, March 29, that they had received a report from a neighbor of the Korean national who witnessed his illegal activities on March 22.
The NBI Cebdo agents made the arrest the following day, and they rescued three Filipinas aged 20, 21 and 31. The women were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Central Visayas office.