Town rids itself of videoke bars blamed for fights, mishaps

TAYUG, Pangasinan—This bustling town in eastern Pangasinan province may be the only area in the province without videoke bars, night joints where patrons sing and drink with female bar workers.

Mayor Tyrone Agabas refused to renew their business permits this year after bar operators failed to comply with requirements imposed by the local government, among them the regular medical examination of bar workers.

“When I assumed office in July last year, I gave them permits on the condition that women working in their bars would undergo pap smear tests once a week,” said Agabas.

He imposed the requirement after noting that the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in his town had increased. But until the end of 2013, he said, bar owners failed to comply with the order.

“Besides, some of the videoke bars are located near the town’s churches,” Agabas said.

He said several road accidents had happened involving men who just came from these bars.

“Then, I’ve been receiving a lot of complaints from housewives that they frequently quarreled with their husbands because of the videoke bars. Eventually, they separate,” he said.

“So, I thought, the videoke bars may not have been doing us any good,” he added.

He said fistfights often broke out in videoke bars involving drunk patrons.

As a consequence of his move, he said the town government was likely to lose revenue from the bars’ business permits. “But what will you do with the money if families here are torn apart?” Agabas said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon