Honeyman: Sex Tourism II

Sunday, October 9, 2011

RECENTLY, US Ambassador Harry Thomas ruffled many feathers by reportedly asserting, at a meeting with senior government officials, that 40 percent of foreign men who visit the Philippines are here as sex tourists. We understand that Thomas may have said ‘up to 40%...’ but the import of his message is the same. Last week, in a text message to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Thomas conceded that he should not have used the 40 percent statistic without the ability to back it up.

Predictably, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and others were upset. ‘Sex tourism is not part of our marketing strategy’ was DOT’s disingenuously sententious response. Numerous editorials excoriated Thomas. Even Pedring expressed its displeasure by destroying the fragile Roxas Boulevard seawall and flooding the American Embassy.

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Thomas is a diplomat. He should have known better. He is not given the luxury of loose talk. It now seems that his data, however imprecise, was obtained from the results of FBI and NBI investigations. But there is a problem and he will have suggested ways in which trafficking abuse may be curbed. In this, he will have the support of his boss, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In addition, the United Nations has recently appointed former Chilean President Michele Bachelet, whose role is specifically to fight trafficking.

The question then is: Will the Philippine government also actively fight trafficking? If yes, then we expect to see results. If no, the international community as represented by the US and the UN will be disappointed.

Last Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario mentioned to senators that Thomas gave the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) a list of Philippine government agencies that were not cooperating fully in the fight against human trafficking. Apparently, Thomas had expressed satisfaction with the participation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the NBI but mentioned that there were other government departments that are needed in dealing with the problem but require greater focus.

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The offenses

Art 341 of the Revised Penal Code deals with bugaws by stating that it is an offense to ‘engage in the business or shall profit by prostitution or shall enlist the services of any other person for the purposes of prostitution’/ Act 341 is supported and enhanced by Republic Act 7610 which provides legal protection to children under 18. The Act is compatible with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

There is also Act 202, which deals with vagrancy. This is a ‘catch all’ by which prostitutes are rounded up. We wish the police would focus more on the pimps [Act 341] than it does at present.

The Problems

We are aware that there are two kinds of sex tourism, namely organized sex tourism and haphazard sex tourism.

Organized sex tourism means that there are pimps both in the country where the tourists come from and within the Philippines. The sex tourists come to the Philippines knowing that sex is explicitly on the agenda. It must be hurtful to genuine, knowledgeable tour guides to know that, in organized sex tourism, prostitutes are also described as ‘tour guides’.

If organized sex tourism is to be fought effectively, then simultaneous arrests need to be made in the Philippines and in the country of origin. Therefore, we need excellent liaison between law enforcement agencies here and abroad.

This is achievable via a number of channels. These include (a) FBI and NBI, already mentioned. (b) Interpol. (c) Liaison between the Philippine Commission on Transnational Crime and its counterparts abroad. Headed in the Philippines be Felizardo Serapio, the Transnational Crime Commission would also work with the NBI and the authorities abroad. (d) Bilateral arrangements between the law enforcement agencies here and abroad. These arrangements have been effective in apprehending foreign pedophiles who prey on Filipino children.

There is also much ‘disorganized’ haphazard sex tourism in which the tourist makes his own arrangements once he arrives in the Philippines. Again, the authorities can do much to curb this by arresting the ‘bugaws’ who pollute those beach resorts, discos, etc. frequented by foreign tourists. The arrests must be followed up with charges being filed and convictions secured.

The Department of Tourism should also recognize that the existence of sex tourism is an overall disadvantage to tourism because it discourages proper tourists.

Generally, commercial sex is deleterious to legitimate activity.

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