Sex and the country

United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. is getting it from all sides after he told Court of Appeals magistrates in Manila that “about 40 percent of the male foreign tourists in the Philippines come for sex.”

Pagka de malas sa Pilipinas, I said to myself when I heard the news. Here we are, looking for a wholesome angle that will be integrated to the brand name Philippines so we can attract foreign tourists only to be frustrated because no less than the US ambassador is telling us that there is a Philippine brand that is quite known to 40 percent of male tourists.

How depressing, but what else is new?

The Palace was rather coy in handling the US envoy’s pronouncements but two senators were clearly annoyed. Senators Panfilo Lacson and Franklin Drilon criticized Thomas for airing “offensive and undiplomatic” statements. Senator Lacson told Thomas to either put up or pack up.

The United States has been at the forefront of global efforts to combat human trafficking. The Philippines is a place of concern because there are reports of “immigration and police officers who are complicit in human trafficking.”

According to the website humantrafficking.org, the Philippines “is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. The number of Philippine and foreign child victims in the Philippines range from 20,000 to 100,000. Foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, sexually exploit women and children in the Philippines.”

In the digital age, tourists who look for sexual pleasure don’t even need to come to our shores to exploit our women and children. They can do so through the Internet.

“The U.S. Department of State began monitoring trafficking in persons in 1994, when the issue began to be covered in the Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report coverage has broadened over the years, and U.S. embassies worldwide now routinely monitor and report on cases of trafficking in men, women and children for all forms of forced labor, including agriculture, domestic service, construction work, and sweatshops, as well as trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation,” the web resource said.

In other words, to the already highly-nuanced job of the highest US official in the Philippines is added the monitoring of human trafficking. Now it makes sense why the US Department of Homeland Security came to Cebu when the cybersex couple in Cordova town was apprehended. The US State Department is monitoring these illegal activities through the US Embassy.

On the other hand, what kind of proof do our good senators need in the face of what has been going around in the stretch of Roxas Boulevard up to Pasay City? Ambassador Thomas merely stated what every Metro Manila taxi driver and cigarette vendor knows—prostitution dens disguised as videoke bars thrive under the very noses of government and police officials.

Prostitution used to widely operate in Manila, but Mayor Alfredo Lim’s mailed fist policy drove operators out of his beloved city pushing them to Pasay and Parañaque. In the old days, Mabini Street in Manila, which is close to Dewey Boulevard (the old name of Roxas Boulevard), was Manila’s red-light district. Although reports point to some seedy districts in Burgos Street, Makati and a large number operating in Pasay, I heard the immoral business is back with a vengeance in the corner of Roxas Boulevard fronting the Heritage Hotel and Casino Filipino. Manila is to Bangkok’s Patpong, the choice of 40 percent of male tourists that Ambassador Thomas is talking about.

Instead of engaging in pointless public arguments that serve only to underline its hypocritical stance, it’s time for the Senate to investigate these shady activities that operate with impunity starting in the Senate’s virtual backyard, Manila and Pasay.

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There is a lot of excitement in the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño these days as the Augustinian Social Development Foundation, the social implementing arm of the Augustinian Province of Sto. Niño de Cebu-Philippines, prepares to bring the image of the Sto. Niño to the Diocese of Naval this Oct. 20.

From Naval town, Biliran Island, the “Duaw Sto. Nino” will proceed to the Diocesan Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Calubian, Leyte. The colorful sea parade will culminate in a grand fiesta celebration in honor of St. Therese on Oct. 21.

The diocesan shrine of St. Therese in barangay Obispo, Calubian town in Leyte was founded by Rey Martinez in early 2000. He has worked hard not only for the shrine’s beautification but also to bring it closer to the people in and out of Leyte. Through his efforts, the once- simple chapel with a life-size statue of St. Therese in the foreground became a diocesan shrine in 2006. It is one of the most beautiful shrines I have visited. Situated in a promontory, it offers the breathtaking view of the Leyte Sea.

To inform the public more about the Duaw Sto. Niño to Naval, Biliran and Calubian, Leyte, Fr. Tito Soquiño, OSA who chairs the Augustinian Social Development Foundation is calling a press conference tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 1), 11 a.m. at the Basilica del Sto. Niño multi-purpose hall.

To media colleagues, see you there!