Cebuana rescued from sex trade in Manila

Couple Mheann and Nelson Lacsa were presented before the press after their arrest in Manila for allegedly recruiting a Cebuana to work in their bar for paid sex. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Cecilia (not her real name), a mother of nine, believed her 17-year-old daughter was going to Cebu City to work when she left their home in Poro, Camotes Islands last month.

Little did she know that Ashley (also not her real name) had gone to Manila after she was recruited by a friend to work as a saleslady there.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 rescued Ashley around 11:30 p.m. on January 9, not from a department store, but from the 4’S Jomeruche’s Resto Bar in Sta. Cruz, Laguna where she was allegedly being sold for sex.

Two other minors, both 16 years old from Rizal and Laguna, were also rescued while serving drinks to bar customers.

The NBI arrested Nelson Lacsa and his wife, Mheann, who would face charges of human trafficking.

DENIAL

The couple denied having any knowledge in the operations of the resto bar, with the wife insisting that she was only working as a cashier and that her husband was visiting that time.

Later on, it was revealed that Mheann is the daughter of one of the bar owners, Domingo Malaza. Another owner was identified as Patricia Malaza, but it wasn’t established whether they are related.

The owners were not present during the operation.

“Wala akong alam diyan. Nagtatrabaho lang po ako. Nasa babae na yan. Lahat naman ng mga bar sa Laguna eh may (I have no idea. I just work there. It depends on the girls. All of the bars in Laguna have) VIP,” she told reporters.

It was found that the bar maintained VIP rooms for P1,500 with girls as in-house sex entertainers.

Each customer was charged P2,000 for sexual intercourse. Half of the amount goes to the girl while the other half goes to the bar owner.

The NBI received a request from Ashley’s parents on January 8, asking them to rescue their 17-year-old daughter.

All along, they thought their daughter was working as a babysitter for a family in barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City when she left their house on December 18.

DUPED

Ashley was reportedly duped to work as a saleslady in Manila by her friend, Carmel May Bensig, who is also one of the suspects at large.

According to the NBI, her entry to the bar was facilitated by Bensig’s gay uncle, “Tita Nicole,” who was also a friend of one of the owners.

The day before the NBI received the request for her parents, Ashley was able to borrow a mobile phone from one of her co-workers to call her mother.

Inside a toilet, she had begged and cried for help, asking her parents to save her from the bar and the “maniac customers.”

“I asked for the complete address of the bar, but she wouldn’t give it to me. She must have been afraid,” her mother told reporters.

A friend of Ashley’s, who had been communicating with her constantly, was eventually able to convince the minor to give her the complete address. The friend then gave the address to Cecilia.

Vice Governor Magpale said the suspects were just “unlucky” that they recruited a Cebuana.

The victims, presently under the custody of the NBI, will be undergoing psychosocial intervention by the Capitol’s social welfare office.

They will also be kept in a facility for women who are victims of violence and abuse until the case is resolved.

Four other suspects — the Malazas, Ashley’s recruiters Carmel May and “Nicole” — are still at large.

Lawyer Ricardo Diaz, NBI 7 regional director, said inquest proceedings will be filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for the convenience of the victims.

Diaz, during the presentation of suspects at the office of Vice Gov. Magpale yesterday afternoon, said the operation was done in coordination with the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC).