Nineteen Women and Children Rescued from Trafficking
On 17 September 2020, 17-year old Maria from Subic reported to the local social worker that she had been trafficked and sexually abused many times during the lockdown by her adoptive aunt and cousins and asked for help. In the absence of a government-run center for victims, the local social worker immediately called the Preda social worker and referred Maria to the Preda therapeutic home. During the intake interview, Maria revealed that there are other minor-victims in the sex den run by her adoptive aunt and cousins. A rescue operation was immediately arranged. The local social worker and police went to the alleged sex den but found no minors there. Apparently, the pimps had been alerted when Maria escaped from their custody.
Sex tourists continued to contact Maria via Messenger trying to lure her into their fold, not knowing that she is already safe in the custody of the Preda Foundation. Preda reported this to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which conducted an undercover operation to entrap the pimps that trafficked Maria and several other children.
On 18 November 2020, through the joint effort of Preda and NBI, nineteen trafficked persons (15 young women and four under-age girls) were rescued from a resort in Olongapo City. They all gave statements to the NBI and filed legal complaints against the pimps and traffickers. Of these, seven (three young women and four under-age girls) were referred to the Preda Home. The three women were released to caring family members contacted by the Preda social worker while Preda gave protective custody to the four minors.
The four minors were initially reluctant to tell their stories to the Preda social worker. Finally, after several weeks, the Preda social workers gained their trust and the children finally told their stories. They all belong to dysfunctional families and were lured into prostitution by pimps who exploited their vulnerability. Surprisingly, they all have been sexually abused by one Nathaniel- an American national. With the assistance of the Preda social worker, the four girls filed legal complaints against him in the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office.
Maria and the three other girls are now happy at Preda where they are continuing their formal schooling and social workers are helping them establish better relationships with their respective families. The Preda therapeutic home provides holistic therapeutic services to victims of sexual abuse and trafficking, including educational and legal assistance, values formation and livelihood skills training.
This important project is supported by the United States Agency for International Aid and Development (USAID), United Nation’s Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, United Nation’s Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons and other German development agencies.
