Are Prostitutes the Cheapest “commodities” in the Philippines?Are Prostitutes the Cheapest “Commodities” in the Philippines?Eastern Visayas continues to be a source of women and children being sent to Metro Manila brothels and sweatshops, and the number of trafficking cases is alarming, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the region.
As one DOM ( Dirty old man) commented, the cheapest commodity now in the Philippines is the Filipino call girl, AKA Guest-Relations Officer (GRO) in night clubs or in bars or working student. This DOM said that while prices of food, gasoline and other staple products keep on rising in the Philippines, the fees for the youthful Filipino practitioners of the world’s oldest profession remain steady. Why? The reason is the law of supply and demand. While there are more and more Filipino women willing to use their bodies to generate income, only the rich, the powerful or the influential in the Philippines and the foreign tourists, including the Balikbayan, can afford the “good times.”
From what I gathered, the usual rate for a decent-looking young Filipino woman is P1,500 per night or US$30 (roughly @ $1/P50). Rates can go up to $100 (P5,000) per night for the better-looking and younger call girls. Another DOM said that for $300 (P15,000) or less, one can have the short-time company of a movie starlet. And indeed, the rates in Metro Manila are way below those charged by brothels in Nevada and other sin cities in the United States, as one Fil-Am retiree explained to his buddies. And more often than not, the rate for a Filipino call girl is per night for unlimited action. The rates are much lower in the Philippine provinces, although often times the girls are supposed to be younger.
Golf tours to the Philippines of Filipino-American sports enthusiasts have become popular because not only do the tourists play golf but they can also avail themselves of the services of GROs and young female companions who double as masseurs or what not. Prostitution may be a bigger “business” than illegal gambling such as the “jueteng” (numbers’ game). According to many of the call girls, half of their fees go to the pimp or madam who is handling the business end of the oldest profession. The pimps (or madams) in turn take care of the politicians, the law-enforcement officers (LEO) and other nefarious hands that dip into, and profit from the sex trade. It has also been reported that many members of the Filipino Fourth Estate refuse to do investigative reporting on prostitution as the writers are given the trade’s “fringe benefits,” such as payment in kind or using another
.
Why is it wrong to treat men as sex workers?
The issue of whether to treat women as sex workers or pimps is always subject to interpretation. Sometimes, a woman’s ability to negotiate or to earn money is seen as the reason for her existence. A woman is often used as a bargaining card even if she doesn’t own a home. When this process takes place, however, there appears to be something in the woman’s personality that is not available to the men. In this situation, the “prostitute” becomes a bargaining card and the women get paid’i.e., more.
A woman can be paid for an hour a day by the men who would be working with her, even if there’s no legal protection for their clients. And that is true for the whole group, from those who have children to the ones who may have them. When a man can force a woman to spend a certain amount of time in a hot summer home that is not hers to give to, these people will see a woman as a bargaining card and would be inclined to be happy to buy her a house or something else for that. This is not simply a matter of “foolishness,” however.
In many ways prostitutes, and pimpesses too, are just men who go by their social sexual preferences. Some are attracted to the male or vice versa‡‡—a form of masculinity. Some view women as beautiful and attractive and, therefore, will pursue a role as a prostitute who earns money from the sex trade. Some women might pay handsomely and make millions in income, as long as they aren’t paid to do so.
There are also many other problems with women who choose to accept an arranged relationship or a sexual contract. It’s said more than once that the men who choose to pay a woman are the ones making the contract, and the women choose to participate. There is a reason for this. The men make a profit from the sex trade. Some may be happy to oblige if asked, as part of some kind of arrangement. But some are very unhappy with the outcome. For the most part, a woman will stay under the table, and the men remain with their friends when it is the time to decide what is best for both of them. The outcome can also be quite different for the men—they go to the men who perform as prostitutes and pay them more.
So, is it wrong to treat men as prostitutes or pimps?
Absolutely not. It has been documented that it may be the case that many women are both willing and able to pay the men to do their jobs rather than working. However, an explanation is needed for the way in which prostitution is viewed today. Men often have the idea that they have the right to perform a physical labor or to get paid for that labor, but that does not necessarily mean that they’re going to have that job.
Even for men who have been laid off and replaced by non-traditional options, they’re probably not going to want to go to the prostitutes to get the jobs they’re paid. It is usually women in general that choose to make such sacrifices for their careers, and their employers aren’t going to force them out. However, it is easy to see how many women are forced out of their jobs because of the women’s