Faces of the News: ‘New tea’

The rise of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), mostly run by and which cater mostly to Chinese nationals, has bred parallel businesses, some of them sleazy and illegal.

In a recent Senate hearing, Sen. Risa Hontiveros revealed how prostitution rings that cater to Pogo workers operate like online food delivery — with a menu of “new tea” available.

The term is code for women, and sounds innocuous enough to evade Chinese online censors. The women are sometimes referred to as “cars,” with new makes and models.

Customers access the women through chat groups where the “new tea” are shown in various states of undress, with their services priced accordingly — up to P45,000 in some cases.

“It’s like Grab Food — there is a menu, prices and the women would be delivered to your hotel or condo,” Hontiveros said.

If anything, the hearing revealed that operators of sex dens have taken advantage of technology to offer sexual services.

It also added commercial sex on top of tax evasion and kidnapping in the menu of Pogo-linked crimes.