Life behind bars for 2 for pushing women into prostitution

COLON PIMPS CONVICTED
15-years for pension house owner

Antonio Planteras Jr. (left) owner of New Perlito’s Lodge at Osmeña Boulevard wipes away his tears while Marlyn Buhisan (center) and Marichu Tawi look down as they listen to the decision of Judge Bienvenido Saniel being read in open court. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

The Cebu City Regional Trial Court yesterday sentenced three people, including the owner of a downtown pension house that fronted as a brothel, after they were found guilty for pushing women into prostitution.

Marlyn Buhisan and Marichu Tawi were found guilty of violating Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and were meted the penalty of life imprisonment. They were also ordered by Judge Bienvenido Saniel Jr. of the RTC branch 20 to pay a fine of P2 million each.

Antonio Planteras Jr., owner and manager of New Perlito’s Lodge located on Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City, was also held liable for allowing his establishment to be used as a prostitution den. He was ordered imprisoned for 15 years and was fined P500,000.

“The negotiation between Marlyn, Marichu, the girls, and the poseur customers for sexual intercourse happened in the New Perlito Lodge, right in the presence of Antonio Jr. Thus he knew it,” Saniel said in his 25-page decision.

“If he (Planteras) did not approve it, he could have easily told them to go somewhere else. That he did nothing about it only means that he acquiesced and consented to it,” the judge added.

The three denied the allegations against them.

Tawi claimed that she too was a prostitute and was not a pimp. Buhisan, for her part, said she was just a helper at New Perlito’s Lodge and that she never recruited women for sex.

Planteras meanwhile, presented to the court a business permit, sanitary permit, and a fire safety permit to prove that he is engaged in a legitimate business. He said he did not allow prostitution inside his establishment—a defense which the court did not give credence.

Planteras’ lawyer, Alvin Butch Cañares, said he will contest the ruling before the Court of Appeals.

Planteras, whose bail was consequently cancelled by the court, was immediately placed under arrest after the verdict was read in open court past 9 a.m. yesterday.

“Wa gyud tawn koy sala ani. (I didn’t commit any wrongdoing),” Planteras told reporters as he was escorted by a police officer out of the courtroom.

Buhisan and Tawi were in tears as they were led back to the Cebu City Jail by their escorts from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Yesteday’s promulgation was part of the “Judgement Day”–- a speedy trial program introduced by the Supreme Court to decongest the country’s court dockets and jails.

Judge Saniel gave credence to the testimony of a 17-year-old girl who was among those rescued when the Regional Special Investigations Unit of the Philippine National Police raided New Perlito’s Lodge on April 28, 2009.

“From the evidence presented in the instant case, it is clear and beyond question that the victims were trafficked for the purpose of prostitution or sexual exploitation,” Saniel said.

He said it was clearly established by the prosecution that pimps and prostitutes hang around the premises or outside New Perlito’s Lodge.

“Antonio cannot feign ignorance because he is always there. He sees it when the negotiation or transaction takes place between the pimp, the prostitute, and the customer. Definitely, he knew that the lodge was being used for prostitution or trafficking in persons and he allowed it,” Saniel said.

During the entrapment, Tawi and Buhisan offered four girls for sex at P300 each. Buhisan received the P900 marked money from undercover agents as payment for sexual services.

Tawi got P200 commission. The transaction was made inside New Perlito’s Lodge in the presence of its owner, Planteras.

Jesse Rudy, the national director of the International Justice Mission (IJM) in the Philippines, expressed elation over the court’s ruling.

“It was a well-reasoned ruling. If we are to end human trafficking in the Philippines, it’s going to take a long and coordinated response from law enforcement, prosecution, and the courts,” he said.

According to the victim who was then 17,  she was looking for her sister in a fast-food restaurant in Colon when Buhisan approached her to ask if she wanted to have money and a customer. The girl said she knew what Buhisan meant and agreed to her offer as she was in dire need of money. She said she gets P300 from her customers and gives P100 to Buhisan. The girl said she gets four customers a week.

Aside from Buhisan, the girl also identified Tawi as among her  pimps. She also claimed to have engaged in sex in a room in  New Perlito’s Lodge.