Saturday, August 04, 2007 Editorials: Sulpa islet Japanese
WHAT those Japanese did in an islet in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City has expectedly sparked an uproar in a largely conservative Cebu.
Videotaping a sexual act in the open, like in a beach, is frowned upon by our culture even if the place where this is being committed is largely deserted.
Of course, it is also against Philippine laws.
But this is not the first time incidents like this happened in Cebu, as virtually admitted by Lapu-Lapu City Police Chief Louie Oppus.
He said the police had received information about these acts even when he was still new to the post, although they found it difficult to catch the perpetrators.
Maybe worse
Perhaps the mistake of the Japanese was that they became too daring. They could have done what they did in an enclosed area and not get caught.
Still, the arrest was not without its merits.
It allowed the Cebuano public to get a glimpse of acts that could have been practiced widely, though secretly, already.
Changed dynamics
In the past few decades, we have seen pornography in Cebu grow, more so with the advances in technology and growth of the tourism industry.
Cebuanos of a few decades ago were merely target consumers of dealers of pornographic materials. New technology may have changed that dynamic, though.
Recent porn busts have shown that some people based in Cebu are already churning products for worldwide consumption.
Some Cebu women, for example, have been drawn into the Internet porn trade.
They are shown in x-rated websites that are set up locally but targeting the international porn market.
Syndicates
The case of the Sulpa islet Japanese, meanwhile, shows the other face of the country's aggressive campaign to increase tourist arrivals.
Government is peddling the Philippines as a wholesome tourist destination but experience has shown that the country has also drawn in the not-so-wholesome types.
Tourists come in many shapes, sizes and characters and Cebu has had its share of pedophile tourists and foreigners-cum-porn producers.
There is no evidence to show that porn activities in Cebu are the handiwork of syndicates, but that does not mean authorities should continue to be complacent.
