Two victims of human trafficking were rescued by authorities during a raid on a KTV bar in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan on August 12, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported on Tuesday.
The rescued was conducted after receiving a request for assistance from the victims’ relatives through a non-profit organization.
According to reports, the victims had been "under the custody of a syndicate engaged in human trafficking activities in Northern and Central Luzon."
The victims’ families said they had received messages pleading for help.
Initial investigation revealed that the victims, along with 12 other women, had been recruited to work as waitresses at Mahogany KTV Bar in Agoo, La Union but were instead they were "coerced and exploited to work as female entertainers and were offered for sexual services to male customers."
Furthermore, the women and their clients were later transferred to another establishment, 178 KTV Bar in Urdaneta City, where they were threatened with being shot if they attempted to escape.
The NBI added the two victims were immediately placed under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The victims told investigators that they were recruited online with the promise of a monthly salary of ₱20,000. They were also forced to sign agreements acknowledging a supposed debt to the KTV bar, which barred them from leaving until it was paid. However, they did not receive any payment from the recruiters.
The Bureau said that they will rescue the 12 other victims, and that "will investigate on the recruiters and the KTV Bar owners and operators for the filing of appropriate charges against them."
