Task Force Quickie raids
2 'short-time' hotels

Task Force Quickie, a creation of the Quezon City Council, raided on Tuesday two "short-time" hotels, those allowing customers to check in for only three-hours, in violation of a city ordinace. Raided were Sogo Hotel at the corner of EDSA and Aurora Boulevard and teh Q-Mart Hotel, both in the Cubao district. Councilor Dante de Guzman, who created the task force, said some members of the TFQ checked in at the Sogo Hotel on May 21 and paid the short-time rate of P465. Task Force Quickie then went on nearby Q-Mart Hotel to repeat the confirmation ploy. The task force then raided the two hotels early morning on Tuesday. A Quezon City ordinance, called the Tourism Code, prohibits lodging establishments from offering “short-time operations," or less than 12 hours of stay. The ordinance, De Guzman said, aims to prevent such establishments from being used a fronts for prostitution. The council’s Blue Ribbon Committee would investigate cases of the two hotels to determine whether charges could be filed. If found guilty, the hotels would have their business permits revoked. Task Force Quickie, De Guzman said, would keep doing random inspections in the city’s 35 apartels and lodging houses and 12 hotels to enforce the ordinance. - GMANews.TV