Lawmaker wants to decriminalize prostitution

MANILA, Philippines - Go after the pimps, not the prostitutes.                                   

A female lawmaker yesterday filed a bill seeking the decriminalization of prostitution to curb abuse and exploitation of women lured into sex work.

Tarlac Rep. Susan Yap said the Revised Penal Code punishes women who engage in sexual intercourse for money, failing to address the criminal liability of those who lure them into prostitution and the poverty that forced them into sex work.                                                              

Citing a study by the Philippine Commission on Women, she said there are around 500,000 sex workers in the Philippines, many of whom were lured into their profession by criminal syndicates.

Of the number, 100,000 are children. She believes the measure “could be a new approach in addressing the problem (of prostitution in the country.)”

“We should not view the prostitutes as the source of the problem of prostitution. We should instead run after those who lured them into this kind of business,” Yap said.

House Bill 1706 seeks to help prostitutes by entitling them to medical services, counseling, and legal protection services.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr. filed House Bill 1656, a measure that also seeks to decriminalize prostitution and provide victims with adequate protection.

The bill seeks to create the National Anti-Prostitution Council that will develop a program addressing prostitution. It also requires local government units to curb prostitution in their jurisdictions.                                                                       

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has expressed support for the measure “to remove the stigma on prostitutes and favor the giving of options that will promote the victims’ economic well being.”