PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES -versusGUILMAR CACHO alias Willy, STEPHEN CHONG, JACKYLENE COLOT and KONA DOE.

Facts:

CRIM. CASE NO. TCS-6387

Pursuant to the memorandum issued by Toledo City Chief of Police, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Toledo City Health Office conducted an inspection or saturation drive on all night spots in Toledo City in the evening of March 12, 2009 for rampant prostitution. The group entered a KTV Bar and noticed the presence of customers who were with young lady entertainers assessed by the raiding group as minors. In an on-the-spot interview several of them admitted their minority and employment at the KTV Bar as entertainers who could be taken out by customers for sex upon payment of Php500.00. Cacho was present and identified as the manager and this resulted to the arrest of Cacho and the rescue of six minor girls from the bar. Cacho and his cohorts were charged with Qualified Trafficking of Persons in violation of RA 9208. Affidavits of the DSWD worker who conducted the operations along with two members of PNP who executed a joint affidavit as well as AAA, CCC and BBBs affidavits were offered as exhibits. Substantially AAA, CCC and BBB testified as to how they were all brought to Cacho in a taxi and was told to wear sexy clothes and work as entertainers to be given a monthly salary of Php7,000.00 monthly. They were also told to have sex with the customers and should they refuse, they either get dragged away by the customers anyway or they were pushed by either Cacho or Kona to do so. Cacho in defense, claimed that he was merely interpreting for Mr. Kao and was not the manager. Kona was the cashier and that Cacho was present when Mr. Kao, allegedly the owner of the KTV Bar interviewed the children in Chinese which he translated for them. No documentary exhibits were offered by the defense. Issue: Whether or not Cacho violated RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. Ruling: Section 4 [a] was violated in receiving four minors that were trafficked persons brought to him with the purpose of engaging in prostitution as a fact. Cacho also satisfied Section 4 [e] elements of hiring and maintaining trafficked persons to engage in prostitution. Section 3 ([a] and [e]) provided for the elements of the crime of trafficking which can be qualified when committed against children as provided by Section 6 of the act. Cacho maintained and hired trafficked persons to engage in prostitution and it is not necessary that there actually was prostitution engaged. The mere hiring of trafficked persons consummated the crime. Cacho was found guilty of Qualified Trafficking of Persons when he hired trafficked persons for the purpose of prostitution or pornography which was qualified when he committed it against children. The case against Chong, Colot and Kona who are still at-large will be archived and warrant of arrests issued.