Probe of new sex tours eyed

Sen. Loren Legarda has urged the Department of Tourism and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to crack down on the Philippine agents of a New York company which a US congresswoman and a feminist group earlier accused of operating sex tours in the Philippines and Thailand.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate committee on tourism, said the Philippine conduits of the Queens, New York-based Big Apple Oriental Tours should be exposed and, if warranted, stripped of its operating licenses.

US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (Democrat, NY) and the women's activist group Equality Now earlier urged the US Attorney General to prosecute Big Apple officials for promoting prostitution.

They also demanded the prosecution of Big Apple for violating a US statute that criminalizes travel with the intent to have sex with minors.

The promotional materials of Big Apple "make it clear that money is being exchanged for the company of women and strongly suggest that sex is part of the transaction," Maloney said.

Legarda said it would have been impossible for the New York-based firm to run tours to the Philippines without the connivance of local travel agents.

"They must have agents here who facilitate their tour operations. The DILG and the DOT should immediately launch a joint investigation," Legarda said.

Local government units now have direct supervision over travel agencies. - With Cecille Suerte Felipe