EDITORIAL - Sex tourism

About 40 percent of tourism in the Philippines is for sex, according to US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. The Philippine government can ask where the 40 percent came from, and the figure might in fact be exaggerated. But the government can’t deny that sex tourism in the Philippines continues. Last year the flap over the new official Philippine tourism marketing program was triggered not just by the logo plagiarized from Poland but also because the website directed viewers to a porn site featuring Filipinas. Further browsing will reveal similar sites, selling not just Filipino women but also young boys and girls for various types of sex services.   

Some of those behind these porn sites have been busted. A number of them worked from home with just a computer or two and a video recorder. Other groups have extensive human trafficking networks that require international cooperation among law enforcement agencies to break up. White slavery rings typically lure victims with jobs overseas as maids and health workers.

Many of the human traffickers in this country are foreigners who work with Filipino accomplices. Several foreign governments have acknowledged the complicity of their citizens in the problem and are prepared to help. The exact extent of the problem may never be known, but the Philippine government should welcome every offer of assistance.

While accepting foreign help, the government should also improve the capacity of Philippine law enforcers to go after human traffickers and fight cybersex rings. Many crimes have become much easier to perpetrate because of the Internet. If law enforcers can’t get the special training they need to fight such crimes, their agencies should hire individuals who can provide the necessary expertise.  

Apart from busting human trafficking rings, the government must make sure perpetrators are penalized. Law enforcers who go after operators of white slavery rings and other human traffickers should be knowledgeable about the pertinent laws to ensure that cases will stand in court and the perpetrators will be put behind bars. As in any crime, failure to punish perpetrators guarantees that human trafficking will continue to flourish.