Manila Police Raid Red-Light District
Police swooped down on bars in Manila’s notorious Ermita district Monday night and hauled away dancing girls, bartenders and scores of foreign patrons.
It was the second raid on the city’s red-light district in a week as part of a drive by Manila Police Chief Alfredo Lim to clean up what was once the capital’s most fashionable neighborhood.
Police refused to say how many clubs have been raided or how many people have been taken into custody because the operation is continuing. One policeman said the raiders are concentrating on clubs believed owned by foreigners.
On March 28, police raided dozens of nightclubs in Ermita and rounded up more than 1,000 dancers and “hospitality girls.” The crackdown followed a proposal by Lim to phase out bars and nightclubs, which he said are fronts for prostitution.
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