80 workers rescued from entertainment bars

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Eighty suspected sex workers posing as entertainers or guest relation officers in different videoke and KTV bars in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur were rescued by police early this week.

Chief Inspector Sandro Santillan, San Francisco police chief, told The STAR that eight of those rescued were minors and were endorsed to the municipal welfare and development office.

Santillan said most of those rescued were the same persons who were rescued in another police operation in March.

The operation came after a report noted a rise in the cases of sexually transmitted diseases in the town.

Municipal social welfare and development officer Evangeline Tan said the workers would be made to undergo stress debriefing before they are returned to their families.