An entrapment operation was devised and launched by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in coordination with such other government agencies as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and with the cooperation of the International Justice Mission (IJM). Of the three accused named in the Information, only two were present on the day of the operation, Reynaldo Marange y Galoy, manager of Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar, Willy Rosales y Mahusay, assistant manager. The third, Eduardo Valencia y Eulin, the proprietor and supposed ringmaster, remained at large at the time of trial.

The entrapment operation was instigated following the IJM’s provision of assistance to two mothers who were wary about the plight of their daughters whom they learned had been illegally recruited and forced to work in a prostitution den known as the Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar, in Marigondon, Lapu-lapu City. On June 2, 2008 the two mothers, C.A.C. and J.C.P., both residents of Agdao, Davao City flew together to Cebu after C.A.C. learned through the DSWD-Cebu that her daughter, C.G. was in their custody after escaping and running away from Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar. D.C.P., the daughter of J.C.P. was only 16 years old at that time and still a minor. She was still at Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar. The bar is a pub doubling as a disco bar with karaoke TV that actually offered girls, including minors, to customers for sex at the price of Php 2,000 by way of a bar fine which customers had to pay to the bar managers before they could take the girls out. Acting on this information, NBI Agent V conducted a surveillance of the illegal activities being undertaken therein. He began his surveillance at approximately 8:00pm on June 2, 2008 and continued it into the early hours of the next morning. He met the accused, Marange, at this time while posing as a prospective client and through this accused he was able to confirm the presence of prostitution in this establishment.

On June 3, 2008, NBI Agent V and members of his team of NBI operatives launched an entrapment operation to rescue the victims and apprehend those operating the bar. Part of the money to be used in the operation was marked with invisible ink and dusted with ultraviolet fluorescent powder. NBI Agent V acted as a tourist guide for three supposed Korean clients. He was supposed to transact with the malefactors at Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar to provide a girl for each of his three Korean clients so that the girls would have sex with them elsewhere once they had paid the bar fine to the establishment. Once the transaction was closed a raid would be announced by the operatives. The entrapment operation was carried out on the afternoon of June 3, 2008. Reynaldo Marange y Galoy, acting as manager, entertained NBI Agent V and the three Koreans who pretended to be looking for potential sex-partners. It was also Marange who voluntarily described to NBI Agent V what kind of sexual acts or services the girls were capable of extending to their customers or clients, mentioning sexual intercourse and masturbation, among others. Marange also demanded then accepted the bar fine from the operatives in the total amount of Php 6,000. Willy Rosales y Mahusay, the co-accused, assisted Marange in the transaction. He ushered the Korean guests into a ‘display room’ where they could choose girls. He gathered about twenty girls and made them stay in the display room so the Koreans could freely choose or pick their would-be sex-partner. It was agreed that the three girls chosen by the Koreans would be taken out for sex elsewhere. One of the girls chosen, B.E.T. was only 17 years old at the time, and thus still a child under the law. Marange then informed the operatives that their chosen girls were ready and provided them with their respective hygiene or health cards proving they were ‘safe’ (free from sexually transmitted diseases). NBI Agent V then sent the pre-arranged signal and his colleagues arrested the two accused. The third accused, Eduardo Valencia y Eulin was not at the bar at this time. The girls were rescued and were immediately brought to the DSWD-Cebu. The entire entrapment operation was captured by a video camera which was strapped to the body of NBI Agent V.

D.C.P., one of the victims, testified before the Court and presented her birth certificate to prove that she was a minor (16 at the time of the crime). She is the youngest of six children and only reached first year in high school before dropping out. On May 22, 2008, she was recruited by a homosexual man named Anoy, together with three of her friends, C.G., M., and C. in Agdao, Davao City to work in Hanna Valley Music Bar in Lapu-lapu City. Anoy told her she would receive a huge salary. When D.C.P. left her home she did not ask for her parents’ permission. She left Davao City without their knowledge. She and her companions took the bus from Davao City Cagayan de Oro City. From there they took a boat bound for Cebu City. They arrived in Cebu City on May 24, 2008 and took a taxi from the pier to Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar. Upon arrival they had dinner, took a bath and then had to immediately report for duty. She and the other girls were put on display wearing skimpy and seductive apparel. She was supposed to go elsewhere to have sex if picked by a male customer. This was what their job was supposed to be. Every time a girl gets picked by a male customer she is supposed to receive Php 500 as her share of the bar fine. A girl can only be taken out of Hanna Valley once the bar fine has been paid to Marange by the customer. In D.C.P.’s case the bar fine was supposed to be Php 3,000. D.C.P. testified that she never had sex with the customers because she was never chosen by any of the male customers. She observed that it was co-accused Willy who enticed male customers to choose girls for sex. The girls were put on display from 2:00pm and if not picked they could be still on display at midnight. They worked seven days a week only resting late at night. D.C.P. estimated that there were approximately 50 girls actually residing or being harbored within the compound of Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar, although she estimated that there were over 100 girls working like her therein. The girls residing on the compound paid Php 250/week for their lodgings. Her stint in Hanna Valley lasted from May 24, 2008 to June 3, 2008. She recalled the raid on June 3, 2008 in her testimony. She came to know about it when Marange told her to hide. She hid at the back of the compound and following a telephone conversation with her boyfriend (who told her that her mother was there to take her home) she went to VINE, an institution which helps human trafficking victims, where she was picked up by DSWD workers and was eventually reunited with her mother on June 4, 2008.

B.E.T., another victim testified before the Court and presented her birth certificate as evidence that she was a minor (17 at the time of the crime). She was present on the day of the rescue operation and was taken to the DSWD where she was interviewed with the other girls. She initially lied about her age but later relented and gave her true age. She testified that she began working at Hanna Valley Music & KTV Bar in January or February 2008. She was assigned to a room where she could stay but paid Php 250/week for her lodgings. Her work consisted of going out with a male customer who paid the bar fine to have sex with her in some hotel. The payment would be received by the co-accused, Edwin, Willy or Marange. She had to lie on the data provided for her health card as she was still a minor and would not have received one for this reason and therefore would not have been allowed to work at the bar. She testified that Marange acted as the manager on the day of the raid.