Another night hub in Barangay San Antonio in Makati City has been shut down on charges of sex trafficking.
Mayor Abigail Binay ordered the closure of Skytop International Club at the corner of Talisay and Yakal Streets following a raid by the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation Monday night.
On orders of Binay, a team from the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office served on Tuesday a closure order on the business establishment for violating Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.
City chief information officer Romulo Salgado Jr. said NBI agents raided the establishment after receiving a report that it was being used as a prostitution front.
He added the authorities rescued several Chinese women and some four Filipino women during the raid, and arrested eight individuals, including four Chinese men, for trafficking.
Customers of the bar reportedly select from a lineup of women, including foreigners, who were allegedly being paid for at least P15,000 each.
Salgado said since January, the city government had closed down 123 errant establishments for violations that include operating without a valid business permit and non-compliance with the National Building Code, Sanitation Code, and other relevant laws and ordinances.
Upon taking office in 2016, Mayor Binay ordered the BPLO, City Building Official and other concerned city agencies to intensify efforts to crack down on businesses operating illegally in the city.
The present administration has taken a strict stance on the enforcement of the city revenue code “to protect the interest of legitimate businesses that have underpinned the sustained economic growth of Makati.”
The imposition of the Mayor’s Permit and other regulatory fees by the city government to regulate any business activity or undertaking conducted within Makati is part of the police powers granted under the Local Government Code of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Skytop was the second establishment in the same barangay the authorities raided for alleged sex trafficking.
Last month, two Chinese women have been arrested by the National Capital Region Police Office on charges of sex trafficking Vietnamese women.
The suspects, identified as Kuang Meiting and Li Xuemei, were arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by men from the NCRPO-Regional Special Operations Unit and Women, and Children Protection Division-Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division in coordination with personnel from the Makati City Police Station.
The authorities swooped down room numbers 519, 803, 924, and 1823 of Avida Asten Tower 2 located along Malugay Street and rescued six Vietnamese women.
NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the police operation stemmed from the information of a confidential informant regarding the rampant proliferation of prostitution activities involving foreign nationals in the said address.
“Information gathered through surveillance, monitoring and lateral coordination led to positive validation,” he said.
Investigation showed that the gang’s operation involve Internet application wherein clients are being lured to avail of sexual services. Based on their promotion, there are Vietnamese, Chinese and Malaysian ladies being trafficked.
Further investigation also revealed that the gang is using a room in the condominium called “show-up room” where clients can choose among the Asian ladies.
Clients also have an option to use other three available rooms in the condominium or bring the ladies somewhere else, police said.