For Newbies -- Ten Common Philippine Myths Debunked

This is primary for newbies who want to know what the expect in their first trip to the Philippines.  It's to debunk a lot of the myth you commonly read on the Internet.

 

 Most of these myths are what I had believed before my first trips there.

 

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Truth: While "dangerous" is a relative and subjective term, I should point out that the homicide rate in the Philippines is just a tad higher than the US -- and that's despite the country's poverty and lax gun laws.  Most homicide in the Philippines happen to journalists, politicians, people in business disputes and in unstable frontier regions of western Mindanao.  

 

As for random people to be killed, it's as rare there as in most Western countries.

 

One reason for the surprising dearth of violence despite poverty and guns is, there is a lack of lucrative drug trade.  Drug use in the Philippines usually involve low cost narcotics like marijuana and meth.  Most can't afford the harder stuff.

 

With the lack of expensive narcotics like cocaine and heroin around, there is a lower level of violent gang turf wars in the country.  International criminal groups like drug cartels and triads have less of an incentive to do business there.

 

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Truth: Maybe in the outlying rural areas.  But in the cities, particularly in Manila, there is usually an agenda behind their friendliness.  If you're of no financial use to them, let's see how "friendly" they act towards you.

 

I have a feeling many Westerners think Filipinos are friendly only because they can speak English.  Common language naturally helps convey a sense of openness and courtesy.

 

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Truth: Filipino culture, driven mostly by Catholicism, is mostly anti-sex.

 

Unfortunately, many mongers who visit Angeles City assume the city represents the country.

 

Only in Manila and Angeles City will you find any concentration of P4P establishments.  Elsewhere, the trade is underground or in the shadows.  Even in Cebu, the second largest city, the trade is thin and growing ever thinner as go-go bars are being crushed by law enforcement and mongers getting arrested.

  

If you ask average Filipinos if they preferred sex tourists or anti-trafficking NGOs, almost all will prefer the latter.  Despite the flashing neon on Fields, the country is highly conservative and religious.  Even adult magazines as harmless as Playboy is banned. 

 

Compared to the rest of Asia, the legal risk of mongering in the Philippines is definitely on the higher side.  That hardly suggests prostitution is a part of the local culture.

 

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Truth: Like women everywhere, Filipinas would prefer having sex with a young attractive man rather than someone old and flabby.  You're being seriously delusional if you think otherwise.

 

Most top-tier bargirls in Angeles City could easily find an old Western husband if they wanted to.  But the fact that most have young Pinoy boyfriends instead reveals their true sexual preference.  

 

The fact is, Filipinas on Fields bang old guys for money and bang young guys for pleasure.  Not only are young Pinoys getting free sex, they're also getting some of the money given by the old guys.

 

It's poverty that drives Filipinas to seek much older men.  If you go onto dating sites, you'd see it's almost exclusively poor, unemployed or uneducated women there to seek foreign husbands of any age.  Middle class Filipinas are almost entirely absent.  And if you do find one, they will almost always be seeking a mate roughly the same age. 

 

Lastly, it's mentioning that you'd never find a Filipina in the West with a guy 30+ years her senior.  So obviously, there's nothing culturally inherent that makes them particularly attracted to old guys.

 

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Truth: Koreans are wildly popular in the Philippines thanks to flashy Korean entertainers and their TV dramas.  In Cebu, every first Sunday of October is officially declared "Korea Day".  There is no "America Day" or "Canada Day" there.

 

These days, it is common and even cliche for young Filipinas to post photos of Korean heartthrobs on Facebook and adapt silly Korean names.  Many of them find Korean guys attractive because they're tall, light-skinned and have fashionable haircuts and dress.  Also, young Koreans tend to be in good physical shape.  Even older Korean guys are usually in better physical shape than their Western counterparts.  Just stand on Fields and count the beer bellies walking past.

 

Many bargirls will claim to dislike Koreans because that's what they think you want to hear ("oh, I only go for white guys").  But 5 minutes later, when they're with Koreans, they will say the opposite ("oh, I only go for Korean guys").  It's called "sales technique".  Unfortunately, many visitors to Angeles City are naive and believe anything that comes out of a bargirl's mouth, especially when it correlates with their own narrow racial attitudes.  

 

Among all Filipinos, Americans are probably still the most liked and admired.  But among the young, I'd say it's Koreans.

 

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Truth: The raids are happening because corruption is on the DECLINE.

 

Angeles City exists in the first place because of corruption, not in spite of it.  It is corruption that restrains the authorities and politicians from shutting the whole place down.  Don't think the locals or cops don't know what's going on inside a go-go bar.  The country's anti-trafficking laws are so broad, anything remotely related to P4P is illegal.

 

Corruption has been on the decline thanks to the expanding economy and President Aquino's anti-corruption drive.  When bar owners are less able to buy off the police, the police are less likely to protect the bars.  That's what you're seeing now.

 

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Truth: Girls have plenty of employment options, just not one that pay as much.

 

Low-level jobs are plentiful.  Many department stores in the malls will hire any female as a sales girl as long as she has a pulse and a clean criminal record.  I know that as a fact.  Those jobs are on short-term contracts and pay is terrible.

 

So it's not because the women have "no options" and forced into prostitution.  Rather, they simply want to join an easier, more lucrative trade where they don't have to get education and years of work experience to earn decent income.

 

A recent poll (http://www.philippines-addicts.com/forum/topic/43662-study-over-1-in-8-pinay-teens-are-mothers/?hl=%2Bfertility+%2Bsexuality+%2Bstudy) showed that 1.5% of Pinays have gotten involved with some form of sex for money.  If prostitution is a woman's only option, how does the other 98.5% of women survive?

 

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Truth: In the go-go bars?...NO SHIT.

 

But in general, it's usually young Filipinas who don't have a job and have yet to develop a sense of ethics who will ask for money.  Bear in mind young girls typically have an "allowance mentality" where they rely on adults for money, like they have all their life.  They usually don't outgrow this until they join the workforce.

 

Also, the Catholic Church is without a doubt the biggest beggar in the country.  So it's natural that some would follow the Church's example.

 

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Truth: It's the Filipinos themselves who're behind it.  

 

Many want to think mongers are loved by the locals and that it's asshole NGOs dictating to the country with their cultural and religious imperialism. 

 

The truth is, no NGO can operate in a country without the mass support of the people and the government.  It's absurd to think people in any country would want "dirty old men" from faraway to come in and bang their women.  Would you want throngs of old rich Arabic or Russian guys flying to your home country to bang local women and calling those women "LBFM"?  

 

The overwhelming majority of Filipinos (and people around the world) are genuinely aghast at human trafficking.  Moral outrage didn't start with the NGOs.  Organizations like the IJM are simply funneling existing outrage with the full and enthusiastic backing of the Philippine vast-majority.

 

I know it's easy to find someone to blame...kind of like blaming Islamic terrorism on Osama Bin Laden.  But such simple beliefs is easier to stomach than the truth...and the truth is, the locals don't fucking want us there.

 

It's ironic some mongers label anti-trafficking groups as a "radical Christian" organization when the Philippines itself is a radical Christian organization (Catholic, of course). 

 

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Truth: The vast majority of Filipinas are conservative and stay home most all the time.

 

Of course, many visitors get this wild impression of them because of the go-go bars and discos...as if they're representative of Philippine society.  

 

In most cities outside Manila, you'd be hard-pressed to find clubbing or drinking venues where young locals hang out.  To socialize, they're usually at the mall, at some religious function, at school or at each other's house.  It's exceeding rare for ordinary Filipinas to get shit-faced drunk in the dead of night.  In fact, if you polled them, most would say clubbing and drinking is for "bad" people.  If you called a Filipina a "party girl", most would get offended.