Recently I received a comment questioning the accuracy of what I am posting about prostitution in the Philippines, specifically about Fields Avenue in Angeles City. I stand by what I’ve written, because all of the information comes from what I have personally witnessed or been told by sex tourists, social workers and former sex workers.
Prostitution is illegal in the Philippines but is tolerated by the government and police. A situation like this will inevitably increase the chances of sex trafficking. It can’t be otherwise. I cannot claim that every woman in the bars is a victim of sex trafficking, but I can claim that I have met some who are. I have heard their stories, and I believe them.
Yes, the women are required to get weekly health checkups, but what does that really prove? Not much in my book. It’s still happening in an atmosphere of corruption. And while I was there, Angeles City’s mayor admitted that human trafficking was a problem in the city.
Many of you have met women who are there voluntarily, more or less. Others are not. Samar, for example, is still a recruiting ground for women who end up in Angeles City after thinking they were expecting employment to be a waitress or a domestic worker.
The only way to know if a woman is trafficked is to talk with her directly. The situation within a bar can be different for each woman working there. If I have made generalizations, I do apologize for them, since they usually end up backfiring when talking about human trafficking. However, I still believe sex trafficking happens on Fields Avenue, and when the body of a 16 or 17 year old is almost the same as an 18 year old, and there’s an atmosphere of corruption, it wouldn’t be hard to get that girl an ID card and put her to work in the bars.
I am now living in Central America. For those of you who would like more recent information about Angeles City, you might contact either the RENEW Foundation or the International Justice Mission. Both have offices in the area and are working to pull women and girls out of the bars.
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