Illegal recruiter nabbed for luring Pinays to Malaysia sex den

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a woman charged with illegal recruitment as she was about to leave the Philippine National Police (PNP) premises for allegedly trying to lure a 17-year-old girl to work in a prostitution den in Malaysia.

NBI Deputy Director for Special Investigation Service (DDSIS) Victor Bessat said they apprehended Evangeline Cruz Manapsal just before she was discharged from the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for allegedly planning to send off a minor to work in a prostitution den abroad.

Head Agent Ferdinand Lavin of the NBI-Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTRAD) said Manapsal was reportedly offering women jobs as entertainers in Malaysia, particularly in Kota Kinabalu and Labuan, but they ended up as prostitutes.

This is the second time that the 37-year-old Manapsal has been arrested.

Virginia Jose, legal counsel of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Church Worldwide, said eight Filipinas, two of whom were minors, escaped a prostitution den in Kota Kinabalu last Dec. 5.

They took shelter at the JIL church in the area and, with the help of the evangelical group, were able to return home.

Manapsal was trying to lure the younger sister of one of the women she already recruited. However, the elder sister, who left last June, arrived and said she was made into a sex slave.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Manapsal was not a licensed recruiter for overseas employment.