Man Who Sold Four Girls for Sex Meted 20-year Jail Term, PHP1M Fine

A Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Lapu-Lapu City has convicted a man who sold four girls for sex of the crime of human trafficking and meted him a 20-year jail term and a fine of Php 1 million.

Lapu-Lapu City RTC Branch 27 Presiding Judge Toribio Quiwag convicted Gaudisio Gerra for human trafficking, a violation of Republic Act 9208.

“Trafficking in human beings, if only to emphasize the gravity of its hideousness, is tantamount to modern-day slavery at work,” Quiwag said in the six-page decision.

Gerra was one of the pimps arrested in the evening of Dec. 9, 2009 during a series of entrapment and rescue operations conducted by the Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (RAHTTF) 7 led by Senior Insp. Teresa Macatangay on Maximo V. Patalinjug Ave. in Lapu-Lapu City.

The RAHTTF 7 conducted the operations in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 and non-government organization International Justice Mission (IJM).

The prosecution presented five witnesses, including one of the victims, and four police officials, to prove the case against Gerra.

Court records show Gerra sold four girls for sex at Php 1,000 each to police decoys near FMH Grill in Lapu-Lapu City.

Police arrested Gerra when the marked money was handed to him inside a taxi, before they had reached a motel.

All the girls were rescued and sent back to their hometowns. (PNA) RMA/EB/EBP