Kidnapped 17-year-old tells how she escaped sex slavers

A 17-year-old teenage girl escaped from her kidnappers before they could sell her as sex slave to a Metro Manila night club, GMA 7 news program "24 Oras" reported on Monday.

The teenage victim recounted how she was kidnapped at her home in the province early Friday morning. Her alleged kidnappers came to their house and told her they were family friends.

When she opened the house gate, they punched her in the gut and hit her on her nape. She lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she was inside a cab. She then realized that she had been taken to Metro Manila. “Ibebenta po ako sa club,” she cried.

She said that there were other minors like herself being held in the club. “Parang humihingi ng tulong sa kanya," said Nenet Desucatan, a Violence Against Women and their Children officer of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children. "Dingding lang pagitan nila, pero may dalawa pa lang nakakulong na dalawang bata rin doon.”

The victim was able to escape Sunday afternoon while she was traveling with two of her kidnappers.  She found an opportunity to escape when they stopped to buy something. She then started walking to a bus terminal, but she felt that they were following her.

“Ito lang ang alam ko kasi... Nakita ko po kasi iyong isang lalaki kaya nagtatakbo po ako sa eskinita kasi po natakot po ako na masundan po ako,” she recalled.

She finally came across a police officer, who came to her aid.

The  victim's mother, accompanied by her boyfriend, took the her home on Sunday night.

The mother said that they were able to talk to one of the kidnappers. She called the number many times, but the phone was eventually turned off.

Police investigators promise that they would coordinate with provincial and Metro Manila police commanders, and promised a vigorous investigation of the human trafficking-case. — Trisha Macas/DVM, GMA News