Sex Tourism in the Philippines

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In the recent years, tourism proves to be one of the major contributors to the economy of the Philippines. Main attractions for foreign tourists supposedly are the famous islands and beaches found throughout in the country though apparently these aren’t the only attractions why foreign men pay to visit the Philippines now these days.

These other so called “attractions” are Filipinas working as prostitutes. Though it may not be that surprising anymore, since the Philippines is ranked as the 4th among the top ten countries to have the highest number of prostitutes in the world. As of 2009, it was estimated to have over 800,000 Filipinas working as prostitutes with some of them being under aged minors (Yrasuegui, M. & Esselborn, P., 2009)

The sex tourism industry is seen almost everywhere in the country but then there is a place described by foreign men where it is almost impossible not to get laid, and that place at Fields Avenue in Angeles City, the so called number one entertainment capital of the Philippines, famous for its numerous bars , casinos, brothels.

The sex industry in the area originated in the World War II when the U.S. Military station, Clark Air base was located near the area. This was the start of the opening of numerous bars and the appearance of working prostitutes although at the start of the 1900's, the Mount Pinatubo erupted and destroyed most of the Clark Air base; it was then closed down soon after. Even with the Americans gone though, the industry was still left behind and has continued to thrive and grow larger up to the present.

This is the cruel industry that a Flipina prostitute named Mila Zamora struggles with to get by. Mila is a prostitute who works in a small bar called Heaven at blowjob ...

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... and living the end of their lives without even achieving anything.

Works Cited

Ralston, M. (Producer & Director). (2007). Selling Sex in Heaven: [Documentary]. Canada: Ralston Productions.

Horlador, I. R. (2012, October 27). Gabriela says no to legalization of prostitution. Bulatlat. Retrieved from http://www.bulatlat.com.

(2012, October 22). Philippine women's group slams UN recommendation to legalize prostitution. Xinhua. Retrieved from http:// news.xinhuanet.com.

Yrasuegui, M. & Esselborn, P. “Philippines: Women struggling to achieve sexual equality,” Deutsche Welle, December 1, 2009.

Brass. M. (2004).The Modern Scourge of Sex Slavery. Soldier of Fortune Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.military.com

Orejas, T. (2008, March 25). ‘Sisters Plus’ aids Angeles sex workers. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

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