NBI nabs human trafficker

By Nora Soriño
Iligan City Bureau Chief .

Iligan City — Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation here arrested a senior citizen Friday night for alleged human trafficking.

Lawyer Abdullah Jamal Dimaporo, chief of the NBI-Iligan identified the suspect as Wilfredo Broman, 66, at Barangay Saray, this city. There were five young girls rescued in the process and one of them is a minor at 16, while the others ranging from 19 to 22 years old.

He added the clients were all locals, no foreigner and that this person had been under surveillance by the NBI following reports of what he has been doing.

The five girls will be duly  turned over to the  Department of Social Welfare Services for appropriate intervention and  proper charges will be filed too against the suspect.

It was learned that suspect would turn over the girls to clients waiting at some inn in the city. This is dangerous for this city as these girls have no protection for themselves especially that these days reports say that those who are affected with HIV in this city are on the rise, the NBI chief added.

In an interview, Broman admitted to doing such acts as at 66, he did not have any other means of livelihood anymore, even as he said that he did not act alone as he has other friends too who are doing the same.

For each girl that he is able to “negotiate” he says the client pays P1,000 to P1,500 of which he gets P500 and the rest going to the girl. Two of the girls are single mothers, he said.

He has been doing this for more than four years now, at first operating in the port area and as things got “hotter” there, he transferred to Saray.

He said he hails from Bukidnon but did not say what particular place in Bukidnon. Clients would wait at some hotel or inn and then call him.