
Human trafficking charges were recommended by the Prosecutor’s Office of Tuguegarao City against two individuals arrested last July by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for alleged engaging in online prostitution involving minors.
The NBI said the Tuguegarao City prosecutors issued a resolution last 25 July ordering the filing of charges for violation of Section 4(a) of Republic Act (RA) No. 9208, the Trafficking in Persons Act in relation to Sections 6(a) and 10(e), as amended, for the trafficking of minors; Section 4(a) of RA No. 9208 in relation to Sections 6(a) and 10(a), as amended, for the acts committed against the adult victims.
The names of those set for charging in court were not disclosed. A copy of the prosecutors’ resolution was not immediately available.
The case stemmed from the operation conducted by NBI-Lal-Lo District Office (LALDO) on the online prostitution activity allegedly offering sexual services of minors through a social media platform.
It said “through internet surveillance and communication with the subjects, it was confirmed that the identified subjects are actually involved in the business of online prostitution in Tuguegarao City.”
“Based on information gathered by NBI-LALDO, subjects offer P3,500 as service fee for each of their wards or ‘talents,’” the NBI said.
Operatives from the NBI-LALDO and the NBI Cagayan Valley Regional Office hatched an entrapment operation that led to the arrest of the two suspects last 9 July at a lodge in Tuguegarao City.
The NBI said that during the operation, the operatives also rescued five females including three minors. It said the rescued minors were brought into the custody and care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 2 for proper intervention.