13 foreign women rescued from ‘prostitution den’ in Makati

MANILA, Philippines – Police rescued 13 foreign women from an alleged prostitution den in Makati City on Wednesday night, January 29.

Makati police conducted the raid at the Golden Dragon Hotel in Barangay Bangkal and arrested Kevin Sy and Xiao Lo, both Chinese and in their early 20s, who allegedly ran the prostitution operations.

Based on a police report, cops rescued two Russian women, two Vietnamese women, and 9 Chinese women at the Golden Dragon Hotel around 10:30 p.m on Wednesday.

Investigators said that they invited 5 Filipino hotel employees for further questioning.

Makati police said they used a Chinese asset who paid P22,000 to the operators of the alleged prostitution den, in exchange for services that they offered.

The rescued women were turned over to the Makati City Social Welfare and Development office. 

The Makati City government ordered the closure of the Golden Dragon Hotel, citing Republic Act No. 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

It was not the first time that a hotel was allegedly being used for prostitution operations in Makati.

In October 2019, 35 women were rescued at Maxx Hotel in Barangay Poblacion in Makati. Most of the women they rescued were Chinese and Vietnamese. It was reportedly run by a Chinese operator.

In September 2019, 51 Chinese women were rescued from an alleged prostitution den in Parañaque, also ran by Chinese operators.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier cited a link between the influx of Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) in the country and the rise of sex trafficking in Metro Manila. – Rappler.com