Philippines (Post1)

Hello All

Jess and I arrived back in Korea and Sunday morning, it already feels as if we never left. I’m finally back at school, after more than a month, and am slowly getting into the swing of things once again. Everyone around me seems very busy, and here I sit wistfully thinking of my ten days in the Philippines while making very little progress on lesson plans.

I enjoyed the Philippines very much, but was disturbed by the very open sex tourism.

Although I intend writing a more general piece on my experience I felt the need to first explore my thoughts on one of the more sinister sides to what could otherwise be paradise.

Sex Tourism

The first thing that struck me about the Philippines, apart from the dramatic change in temperature after only four hours of flight, was that it is clearly a third world country. I’m not sure why this surprised me, I already knew something of the poverty that afflicts the Philippines, having read a little and watched a few documentaries on it’s sweatshops that produce all manner of fashionable goods for export, but still I was taken aback. Cebu City, where we landed and spent our first night – we landed after 1:00am, is an ugly sprawling city but it is also the gateway to a group of spectacular tropical islands known as the Visayas.

Cebu City is hardly worth mentioning, and I would gladly not mention it were it not for the fact that it was where I was first introduced to one of the uglier features of tourism in the Philippines: sex tourism. Having already met one westerner in Korea with a far younger Filipino wife I was aware that it is a popular destination for western men to meet, and marry, (young) Asian women. I was under the impression however that it was a discreet matter, and I had no idea that it is as wide spread as it is. I was therefore in for a shock when I entered the dining room of our hotel for my first breakfast in the Philippines. Far from secreting themselves away from the public view, we were surrounded by men who had clearly picked up far younger Filipino women for their holiday.

The atmosphere was stagnant and the very little chatter at the tables around us was forced. I felt very uncomfortable eating a meal in the contrived setting, and could not help but feel that by quietly eating my breakfast beside these 'couples' that I was somehow giving credit to the farce.

The reality is that sex tourism, judging by the numbers of these couples that I encountered, must account for a significant portion of tourist revenues in the Philippines. The ever authoritative Lonely Planet suggests that sex tourism is quietly ignored by paid off police, but the pervasiveness of the industry, and it’s widespread tolerance, suggest that far from being ignored that this industry is counted upon – perhaps, although unacknowledged, even welcomed – in tourist visited areas. Here’s the line of logic: Estimates suggest that tourist revenues accounted for roughly $5 Billion of a $144 Billion economy in 2007. $5 Billion as a percentage of the whole economy is a paltry 3.5%, but these revenues are concentrated in the small touristed patches of the Philippines; and must surely account for far higher percentages of these local GDPs. Tourist money likely carries a lot of clout in these areas, and I suspect that far from merely tolerating sex tourism, communities and local officials support the industry. Accepting obvious sex tourists into a hotel is itself an act of blurring the lines between tolerance and encouragement, accepting a sex tourist once is encouraging them to return a second time.

Despite the strong revenues and tacit, or even overt, support that the industry receives, Filipino women that engage in the trade must find themselves in a precarious position. In a country where Christian imagery is unavoidable, and Catholicism dominates public life, women plying the sex trade must occupy a position akin to lepers in biblical times – except in making this comparison I obviously look over the fact that these women bring in money – which of course supports the community.

As for the men, it’s easy to write this group of usually well heeled travellers off as ‘total losers unable to attract women or maintain relationships at home’ – but there’s more at play. These men pay a woman to go on holiday with them, they buy a week of somebody’s life – which in effect means taking control of a person’s life for a week. Doing so is intended to bring pleasure, but it also speaks of insecurity, vulnerability and fragile egos. Taking control over another person’s life is an act of power, or an attempt to gain power, which begs the question “What happens when the bought illusion of dominance fails?”. If a women refuses some act behind closed doors does the insecure and very much egotistical man accept the refusal, or does he assert his dominance through less subtle means? In which case who, if anyone, does the sex worker turn to?