The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has recommended the prosecution of 26 individuals for alleged violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, including the wife and son of former Quezon City congressman Mike Defensor, before the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office.

The case stemmed from an NBI raid on Chicago Nightclub, whose premises are being leased by a company led by Defensor’s wife and son.

A total of 54 women, some of them foreign nationals, were rescued during the operation and turned over to the Pasig City Social Welfare and Development Office for care and assessment. Their sworn statements were taken with the agency’s consent.

The NBI-Special Task Group conducted the raid on April 21 after three weeks of surveillance reportedly confirmed that the establishment was recruiting and sexually exploiting women.

According to the NBI, customers allegedly paid between P5,000 and P20,000 for sexual services, depending on arrangements or the “classification of women.”

The nightclub—registered as a KTV and managed by Chicago Electronic and Entertainment Corp.—shares the same building with Bleu Hotel, operated by Zerrin Development Corp., where Julie Rose Defensor serves as chairperson and president and Miguel Gabriel Defensor as treasurer.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said both companies have “interlocking” directors and officers, which allegedly allowed the establishments to facilitate the suspected illegal activities.

Those charged include officials of Zerrin and Chicago, as well as 16 individuals arrested during the operation. More complaints may be filed as the investigation continues.

In a statement also posted on her social media accounts, Julie Defensor denied any involvement in the establishments and criticized Matibag for allegedly using her and her son as “collateral damage” to target the former congressman, who is politically outspoken and identified with the Duterte opposition camp.

“Any attempt to link our family to the abhorrent acts allegedly committed there is a deliberate, dangerous, and desperate lie,” she said.

Matibag, for his part, defended the operation, saying investigators only uncovered the alleged links to the Defensor family after reviewing corporate documents.

Separately, past controversies involving Defensor resurfaced, including an incident in the early 2000s when he accused police—then under the Central Police District (now the Quezon City Police District)—of using a false witness in connection with the arrest of four women for alleged vagrancy in Quezon City.

At the time, police presented a parking attendant who claimed he had acted as a pimp for the women and alleged that Defensor had hired them. The former lawmaker dismissed the claims as a “squid tactic” by authorities, while the issue later reached congressional inquiries involving committees on human rights and public order.

The NBI said the current case remains under further investigation as authorities determine the full extent of liability of those involved.