Cybersex haven

CYBERSEX. Cuffed Swedes Bo Stefan Sederholm and Emil Andreas Solimo,who are allegedly behind cybersex operations here, talk to lawyer Jose Pallugna following their arrest on Thursday afternoon. Authorities seized cybersex paraphernalia (above) during the raid near the highway in Barangay Kauswagan on Thursday afternoon. (PHOTOS HERBIE GOMEZ)

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday pressed trafficking charges against two Swedes and four others, a day after authorities from the NBI and the police raided an alleged cybersex den near the highway in Kauswagan here.

Charged with violation of the Republic Act (RA) 9208, otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, were Swedes Emil Andreas Solimo, 33, and Bo Stefan Sederholm, 29, and three Filipinos a male and three females.

NBI assistant director for Region 10 Patricio Bernales Jr. said the Filipino suspects a male and two females had no proper identification.

The Swedes’ alleged accomplices gave only aliases like “Tiger,” “Arvie,” Andrea” and “Joe.”

Bernales said the women were the ones running the operations of the alleged cybersex den while the man served as a watchman.

The NBI was to release 19 women who were found in the upper levels of the three-story building during the Thursday raid. Some were caught inside cubicles, nude before webcams and interacting with foreign ‘‘clients’’ via the Internet.

The women, who are reportedly from other parts of the country, were reportedly paid as much as P15 thousand a month each to engage in cybersex. When demand increased, the group reportedly contracted women from the city.

Bernales said not one of the female workers was a minor contrary to earlier reports (not in this paper).

“Their ages range from 18 to 32 years old. In fact, some already have children,” he said.

Irma Dapa of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the alleged victims would be brought to the regional center for homeless women of the department in Lumbia.

Dapa said the government would help the women return to their homes if they wanted to.

Bernales said the women gave statements that were inconsistent.

What the NBI knows, he said, is that the women were housed in an apartment in Carmen by the group behind the alleged cybersex operations.

Investigators said the alleged cybersex operations in Kauswagan started less than a month ago. But before that, the group was operating elsewhere in the city.

Bernales said the Swedes and their group were already under surveillance before they transferred their base of operations from Nazareth. For a moment after the group moved out, the NBI lost track, he said.

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For some, Oro is a Third World slum; for others, it is a sexual paradise
The women used as ‘‘models’’ in the cybersex operations of a group allegedly led by two Swedes. Poverty has lured many women to accept demeaning work. Worst, some people with money take advantage of this poverty so they could make more money. What does that make them? – GERRY GORIT

HERBIE GOMEZ – Editor in chief

FOR some foreigners, Cagayan de Oro is nothing more than a Third World slum. But the city’s sex tourism, demeaning as it sounds, is growing strong and the place is fast becoming a paradise for many sexual predators. Caga-yan de Oro is also becoming known as a city where anyone can have cheap sex even right inside dingy bars.

Commercial sex workers are everywhere at the ‘‘Night Cafe’’ in Divisoria on weekends, at street corners, and even in shopping malls. And a number of students and other “amateurs” in need of money or just for the thrill of it are very willing.

A foreigner claimed he picked up a young woman near VIP Hotel and she was willing to do just about anything he wanted, including allowing her photos to be taken, in exchange for a promise of a good tip. She was paid only P1,500.

In classier bars, the charge is double. For P3,000 to P3,500, a customer gets full service. But those who want to avoid the ‘‘bar fine’’ can arrange to meet the women after the 2 am closing time.

In a bar in Lapasan, exotic dancers remain nude and sit with customers in exchange for drinks, the source of their commissions. One foreigner bragged about how he made a group of women perform oral sex on him in a dark corner of a Lapasan bar like it was a contest.

The Gold Star Daily stumbled on a discussion thread by a group of foreigners––Americans, Britons and Canadians––who shared notes about Cagayan de Oro’s sex tourism industry. *The website serves as a sex guide to tourists.

The following are excerpts from their 2005-2006 discussion:

Says a man who uses the username ‘‘Good Enough’’: ‘‘I just got back from another two-night trip to Cagayan de Oro and each time I go, I like the place better. It’s large enough to have everything, including bars and clubs and decent restaurants, but not nearly as crowded as Davao. The streets are clean and attractive, and the town is very safe…

‘‘The bar of choice remains Bada Bing, which has 20 or 25 really pretty ladies who start dancing semi-nude and get down to skin and shoes quickly. The bar fine is steep at P3,500, which includes the girl’s time… The girls are happy to meet you after the 2 am closing if you want to avoid the fine.

‘‘I’m told that the Pyramid Bar has more girls than Bada Bing, but I never went there. There are also lots of smaller KTV/disco bars all over town and women on the street.’’

A few months later, ‘‘Good Enough’’ wrote: ‘‘I am currently in Cagayan de Oro for a couple of nights and last night went out with some colleagues to a club called the Home Court. This place is about 25 meters up the street from Bada Bing. It’s smaller than Bada Bing, and more intimate, with tables fronting the stage which is not raised. The girls get nude in about one minute and some of them, in fact, most of them, were several cuts above the normal girlie bar dancers. I have no idea what the bar fine is at this place. I was strictly looking, but it’s worth checking out if you’re ever here.

‘‘Of course, being on the same street, I checked out Bada Bing, the old stand by as well. It’s got a new crop of women who are much, much better looking than the prior crew. As with Home Court, it takes the girls only a very short time to get naked on stage. The bar fine here, including the girl’s time, is P3,500 and I don’t think it’s negotiable, but I could be wrong as I was not partaking.’’

He wrote another: ‘‘Just got back today from a two day trip to Cagayan de Oro and want to add a little information to my last report… We dropped by Mojo’s and… entered through Ralf’s bar. We got there very early and the place was by no means full, but it was full of cacophonous sounds. In fact, it was so noisy that I had to leave, being too old to withstand the constant din of the disco-type sounds. The bad news for me was that everyone in the place looked to be about 16 years old. I think between my friend and myself, we raised the median age by 35 percent or so. I can see though, that late at night the place probably rocks.

‘‘After leaving the teenage disco, we journeyed to Ontic, which is across the street from Bada Bing and down the street from Home Court. My friend hooked up immediately with the nude cutie who was writhing on the stage, and she was, without doubt, one of the hottest women I’ve ever seen in one of these bars, including those in Manila. He said her performance was at least on a par with her looks, and she started (unprintable) him almost before he got the door locked. Her name, by the way, is Jacquie, and I would recommend that anyone going there check out this 19-year old hottie. The bar fine was P3,000 and she stayed most of the night. I never much liked Ontic, but last night it was terrific. As with all of the bars on that street, most of the girls dance nude and there were some truly fine-looking women….’’

A man who used the username ‘‘bigwoodie60’’ posted this on Sept. 20, 2006: ‘‘I was in Cagayan de Oro city with my girlfriend. She had to go back to Valencia city for one day to register for college. I picked this girl up outside the VIP hotel. She was very willing to do anything I wanted to do to her and also let me take lots of pics. I just told her I would give her a good tip. I paid her P1,500 when she left. I will try to download some pics of her.’’

One ‘‘ChrisC30’’ posted this on Sept. 22, 2006: ‘‘I was reading in a review of [Cagayan de Oro] that during the day you can manage to find students and other ‘amateurs’ who might be willing….’’

He added this a day later: ‘‘Anyone got any tips for these… daytime ‘students’? From the review, it seemed a little interesting. Are they really shy? I’ve never seen anyone who was willing to sell their body for sex be shy about the deal. Of course, I’m not the expert in this area.

‘‘But the prospect of possibly finding a fresher face could be worth the effort in conversation.

‘‘I’m planning a trip to the Philippines either end of 2006 or early 200, just wondering what to expect.’’

A Briton who was using ‘‘mrbojangles’’ as username replied: ‘‘I dont know what image of Cagayan you have built in your mind but the place is basically a Third World slum.

‘‘The only effort you will have in conversation is in avoiding it. You are their next meal; if you’re on your own I’d be careful (i.e. dont get blind drunk). I wouldn’t recommend this place to build confidence with regular ladies….’’

On Nov. 27, 2006, ‘‘ctc_merlin’’ posted: ‘‘CDO has a lot to offer.
‘‘My favorite places are in Agora, a part of town. Most of the places are typical Pinoy style, with strip shows, a.k.a. ‘Philippine meat inspection.’ That’s all, most locals like.

‘‘Nevertheless, the last (nameless) one on the left side is a bit more wild than all the others. If you give the girls a drink, they will not dress up after their performance and sit with you. I had more than one (unprintable)-contest in a dark corner. More than 25 girls, even a few stunners.

‘‘Another very good one is under the Carmen-Bridge, called Rainbow. Also a typical Pinoy place, with a couple of beauties.

‘‘Close the VIP Hotel, are the more decent ones with line-up and numbers, with VIP rooms and the usual stuff (Ondix, etc.). The best of these quality places is the ‘Pyramid’ located on the road to Bulua.

‘‘Freelancers can be found at Night Cafe (weekends), open place, left-hand side of VIP.

‘‘A quite famous disco is next to Xavier University (can’t remember the name), but will post it in January. Others are Navigator, Ghana and Macumba.

‘‘Around the university belt are a couple of I-Cafes and small ihaw-Ihaws (small local bars and restos), with lots of students.

‘‘Shopping malls like Limketkai offer some freelancer action…’’

*http://www.worldsexguide.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-13602.html