Not so wholesome Cebu
Bird watchers on Olango Island, Cebu, could watch strange birds on the uninhabited Sulpa Islet on August 2. A Japanese couple was having sex—with penetration and everything—on the beach while two companions were video filming the scene. Policemen promptly arrested the four Japanese after bird sanctuary wardens on nearby Olango Island who caught the action on their binoculars, alerted the police in Lapu-Lapu City.The story naturally made it to the headlines in the local news. Newspaper photographers took pictures of the steamy video footages and the pictures were published on the front pages of the local papers. The penetration part was, of course, blurred but probably few if any readers had problems imagining what was hidden. The four Japanese—three men and a woman—pleaded guilty to a violation of Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code, paid a fine of P6,000 each and were released.
Tourism officials were upset about the incident which, according to them, has damaged the image of Cebu as a wholesome tourism destination. However, those of us who live in Cebu know that it is so-so with the wholesome image of Cebu as a tourist destination. Thousands of young women work in establishments that sell sex. The women are forced to let men—Filipino as well as foreign—grope them, as this is part of guest relations. The customer-friendliness goes as far as stripping inside private rooms. And, of course, going out with the customer if he wants to have sexual intercourse. The managers of the establishments would usually deny that they have anything to do with this, but the fact is that no less than our government has imposed on the female guest relations officers (GROs) the keeping of an updated health card. This card is the government’s assurance to the customer that the girls are free of sexually transmitted diseases. We don’t want our foreign tourists to contract an STD or HIV in this wholesome tourism destination, do we?
Some years ago I attended a press forum with officials of the local Departments of Tourism and Health. They were arguing for the health card to protect Cebu’s image as safe and clean for foreign tourists who come here and seek sexual services.
An NGO workers once told me about some Japanese men who returned to a mountain barangay in Cebu City where they were going to have fun with some children. During the sightseeing earlier that day, the parents had approached the men and offered them their children. Other parents have no calms about pushing their teenage daughters into relationships with foreign men—I remember meeting a Swedish national on Bantayan Island. He had two teenage girls in tow. The parents of the girls had told them to befriend the Swede. With the aggressive promotion of the Philippines as a retirement haven, expect more of this kind of prostitution.
Foreign men are occasionally caught in hotel rooms taking nude photos of teenage girls. Once, a foreigner was arrested in Cebu City for shooting his own video in a hotel room. He was having sex with a young girl while her female friend was filming the couple.
What harm did the four Japanese do? While what they did was extremely stupid, they did not involve any Filipinos in their activity. They didn’t prostitute or corrupt any minors. They offended the senses of the general public, but probably the policemen have viewed the videos more than once, and not for purely investigative purposes. The punishment the Japanese was meted—a fine against pleading guilty—for once gives us hope that the justice system is fair, reasonable and efficient.
Sex sells and the four Japanese who could thank the timely intervention of the police for not getting a severe sun burn, were top news in Cebu for a day. The Japanese had to leave the country without their video. End of story. But thousands of Filipino women, girls and boys continue to service their male customers, many of whom are foreign tourists, risking their health and destroying their self-worth, their dignity and their lives. Not enough is being done to confront and end this continuing crime. Authorities, instead of regulating prostitution through the issuance of health cards, should work harder to create jobs that will uplift rather than destroy the human spirit.
