The beautiful Filipina

Prostitution, in the Philippines, takes many forms. But they all have one common root: poverty. Our girls are driven to this because they want to survive, and they want their families to survive. When they are destitute, this seems to be the only way to survival.

When an ocean liner drops anchor off the coast of Batangas, our girls go out to the great ship in little boats, outriggers. As they approach the vessel, the sailors blossom on the deck, looking down at them over the ship’s railing, choosing the girls they want. These are called: "the English speaking men".

The ship drops a rope ladder. The girls climb up the ladder, onto the deck. It is called: "Akyat Barko". They are guided to the cabin or cubicle of the man who chose them, and there they stay for the night. They are paid for this, in dollars.

In the morning the outriggers come back, and the girls are ferried to their little shacks along the shore. The pay is high. But the incidence of HIV and of AIDs is also high. And if the girl conceives, she is left with her baby, alone, with no support. All that is left to her is shame, humiliation, and the terrible feeling that she has lost all human dignity.

Another form of human trafficking is called, in English: "Mail Order Brides". In Europe they are called: "Catalogue Brides." They really have catalogues, with a picture of the girl and a description of all the qualities that make her desirable – the color of her skin, her hair, her eyes; her height and weight.

The European catalogues praise our girls as beautiful, hard working, responsible, strong willed, intelligent, and very docile, very submissive, willing to do anything that will please. Our girls accept this position, so that they can send money home to their families.

In our big cities, the girls become Guest Relation Officers, in the bars. If it is only to be a companion to the customer, in the bar, they are paid by the hour. And if they can persuade the customer to buy them ladies’ drinks, they receive a commission for each drink.

If the customer takes them upstairs to the cubicles prepared for this, there is a set price. If the customer wants to take the girl out of the bar, to a different place, the price is higher.

The most miserable of the girls are those who are trapped in the brothels. Sometimes they are studied through one way glass, mostly by foreigners, and chosen for a one night stand, or a two night stand, or a three night stand, in a hotel.

In the cheaper red houses, they are all called down when customers appear, so that each man can choose the girl he wants. It is par for the course when they serve ten to fifteen customers in one night.

It is customary to look down on these poor girls as "fallen women". But – as Sister Soledad Perpiñan, R.G.S. says so well – they are not fallen. They were pushed . . . pushed by poverty, or by brute force.

In the homes that Sister Soledad has set up to rescue girls from this sordid industry, almost half are teen age children who have been raped, or who have suffered incest in their own homes, from their fathers, or from their stepfathers, or from some remote relative.

And the psychology of the Filipina is this: once she has been de-virginized, she feels that she is shamed forever. She feels that she is a shattered glass. There is no more hope. It doesn’t matter what happens after that. . . . .Yet this child has not sinned! She has only been sinned against!

The rage at the moment is cybersex – sexual activity on the internet. Actually it is a worldwide ten billion dollar industry. But the Philippines is considered the cybersex capital, victimizing minor girls.

In Manila, in the college belt, it is called "Prostitution". Because most of the poor girls who are trapped into it need the money to pay their tuition, in order to go to school. They want to graduate from college, so that they can get a decent job. And they feel it is not as bad as prostitution, because they are not being touched by anyone.

Basically, they strip and perform whatever sexual acts the customer wants to see. Though, quite often, they are asked to have sex with a male partner. It is hard for any legal authority to control this, because there are no laws against the internet. The most they can be accused of is: acts of lasciviousness.

This whole wretched industry – of human trafficking – must stop! We can no longer bury our head in the sand, like an ostrich, and pretend that it isn’t there. We can not pretend that it is not a curse, a disgrace to this nation. We can not pretend that it is not a shame, a humiliation, an insult to each one of us.

We fly a Filipino flag. We speak with some pride of being loyal to our country. But the country is not only the land, the sea, the mountains, the trees, the cities and towns. Our country is our people! The most beautiful gift that God has given us is each other!

It is patriotism to die for the country from gunfire, on a mountain top, like Gregorio del Pilar. But it is also patriotism to live for our people! We should defend our territory, but more than that, we should defend our children, our girls, our women! If we stand by, and watch them being sold for money, it is sheer, unadulterated cowardice! It means that we think money is more important than those we love.

We can not stop human trafficking by passing laws from on high. Our government officials are notoriously corrupt. Our military, and police, are hungry for money. They do not block human trafficking. They promote it.

The defense must come from the ground up. It must start in the heart of each one of us. It must start in the heart of every mother, while her daughter is still a baby. It must start in the heart of every teacher, even if she is teaching nursery and kindergarten. It must start in the heart of every father, of every man. It is our obligation before God. And we owe it to each other. We have been shamed and humiliated long enough. Now we must stand up. And stand tall.

We go to great lengths to preserve our ancient landmarks, because we are proud of our culture. We preserve the city walls, the magnificent old Spanish cathedrals, the lovely old houses with their narra floors and capiz windows and lofty ceilings, the amazing rice terraces of the north.

But the treasure of our nation is not the city wall, or the old cathedral, or the lovely home, or the rice terraces. Our most precious possessions – and these we must defend, at all costs – are our children, our girls, our women. . . . the beautiful Filipina.

* * *

There is a daily texting service called: One Minute With God.

To reach it on Smart, text: Reuter@326.

To reach it on Globe, text: Reuter@2978.