Poverty, prostitution and pornography

In a safe house in Tawi-Tawi five women are rescued by police officers from a “businessman exporter.” Intelligence reports have proved accurate and Captain Ismael, the investigating officer, is to be congratulated. How did these women seeking employment from General Santos, Mindoro, Cotabato City and Manila arrive in Bongao? Converging in Manila, they landed in Zamboanga City. Always traveling in small groups of 10 or less they boarded a boat or plane for Bongao, Taiw-Tawi. At the pier after 13 hours at sea they were fetched and brought to a safe house before their trip to Malaysia by speedboat. Some admit to have been recruited for prostitution. Others believe they had employers waiting to take them on as maids and waitresses at bars. From March to August 2011, 150 women were apprehended and handed over to DSWD by representatives of the Philippine National Police.

Countless incidents of buying and selling mostly females take place, bearing out the recent remarks of US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Junior as fact. True, his comments about prostitution and sex tourism in the Philippines stirred a bitter debate in the country. No doubt, being a diplomat, Ambassador Thomas receives updates on Philippine intelligence briefings on various issues of national and international significance including prostitution because trafficking of women and children has cross-border implications.

According to the “2010 Trafficking of Persons Report by the United States State Department on the Philippines”: “The Philippines is a source country (of prostitution) and to a much lesser extent, destination and transit point for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.” Prostitution exists to a large degree in our shores, and inwards and outwards towards Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and various Middle Eastern countries in a vast network of this illegal trade.

Let’s go just 30 minutes nearby. In Sta. Rosa, Laguna PNP assets easily identify prostitutes as they tend to converge in one area waiting for customers, thus identifying a regular gathering place for street prostitution. Women are picked up and driven away by their clients.

Bar prostitutes are regularly monitored by PNP officers (working undercover) who ask questions to verify the particulars of the trade. How much do they charge for intercourse? Intercourse costs P800 to P1,500 depending on how pretty or how young the girl is. College students who sideline as prostitutes are paid P2,500. because they are more exclusive. Sta. Rosa prostitutes come from Pampanga, Tarlac and the Visayas. When the clients grow tired of the same girls the handlers switch the girls around for another provincial assignment, producing new faces to carry on prostitution, the “oldest profession,” as the Bible says.

It’s a social reality that every nation confronts. It is an issue that we cannot simply brush aside, because of an apology. If we’ve been embarrassed by a reality, we’d better confront the issue of prostitution even if it does “invite” a bad image of our country. How can we ignore this when the Philippines is number five among the countries that are hosts to prostitution? What aggravates our position is 100,000 of these sex workers are child prostitutes in Manila, according to the estimates of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

What brings about prostitution aside from adventure and thrills? Poverty has been identified as the primary push factor of prostitution. Parents, relatives and friends with no regular source of income breed and encourage prostitution for cash.

B’laan women from various towns in Saranggani have turned to prostitution. They say years of government neglect have forced them into that profession. Tribeswomen, aged 15 to 18, with inappropriate education work in different beer gardens, fun houses, nightclubs and big hotels in General Santos City.

Government complacency contributes to the alarming problem of human trafficking. Again, according to the State Department’s 2010 Report, “The government of the Philippines does not show evidence of significant progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking.” Because of this dismal performance, the Philippines remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year.

Corrupt government officials tasked to enforce laws permit the conduct of illegal activities, either tacitly or explicitly, by extracting protection money from illegal businesses, including brothels.

In Cebu in 2004, taxi drivers surveyed responded that they had had encounters with foreign tourists accompanied by a Filipino minor. Interviews in a drop-in center for victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) showed that 70 percent of the girls assisted were between the ages of 11 and 17 (according to ECPAT International, 2006).

Not surprisingly, social hygiene clinics are operated in Angeles City and some are run by the local governments which work with nightclubs in red light districts. Government clinics certify bar workers sexual health and their virginity. GROs (guest relations officers) are required by municipal ordinances to have weekly medical checkups before being allowed to continue working.

Some argue for the legalization of the trade to “protect” the rights of men and women engaged in prostitution. Why? Because since prostitution is illegal, female and male prostitutes fall prey to their shady employers. They are subjected to bondage and indebtedness due to overpriced food and lodging and health checkups.

Those who support the legalization of prostitution argue that those engaged in the profession should enjoy full protection of the law to work in an environment conducive to their profession and have equal access to health insurance and benefits. Most of all, legalization would give the prostitutes full control over the fruits of their labor since prostitutes normally get only a small portion of the amount clients pay for their services, while a big chunk goes to owners of bars and beerhouse and their handlers.

But legalization, to my mind, will not address the problem of prostitution. I think legalization will even encourage it. The prejudicial question, before we even think of legalizing prostitution, is whether prostitution is right or wrong. While I sympathize with the predicament of both women and men, prostitution is wrong. It compromises a morality and value system akin to the communist worldview that treats human beings as a means to an end. Especially when children are sold to perform sexual acts for pornographic movies and sold in brothels or on the streets for as little as $25 and forced to see as many as 10 customers a day.

Reports have it that there are at least a million Filipino prostitutes in the country. According to ILO estimates, there are 75,000 to 100,000 children engaged in the sex trade. Judging by these reports, prostitution may now be the country’s fourth largest source of GNP.

The statement made by Ambassador Thomas that 40 percent of male tourists visiting the Philippines come for sex tourism may have put the Philippine tourism industry in a bad light. It may have hurt our egos. But the existence of prostitution in the Philippines is public knowledge. Closing our eyes and ears won’t change that.