Name: WDC
City/State/Country: California
IP Address: 67.123.16.122

Comments

You don't want your daughters to become sex slaves in your own country, then do something rather than become part of the problem. Ask those Filipinos how they spent their vacation in the PI, you will hear the same words as that the US Ambassador claimed. The problem with us Filipinos, we are bunch of hypocrites.

Name: Edward
City/State/Country: Angeles City
IP Address: 98.160.174.84

Comments

You want to know the sad thing about a subject like this is that the individual victim, the young girl she has no face or name, people talk about her in general terms like with this editorial or how it's talked about between people here on this site. Ever wonder how it came that she had to become a prostitute. What do you think JRH, you LPIF, this 14 year old just woke up one morning and decided to sell herself? I feel sorry for each and everyone of you who do not think that the sex trade is a huge business in the PI. Shame on all of you.

Name: Super Sensitiv
City/State/Country: Cowboy State
IP Address: 70.112.156.131

Comments

USA Amb. Thomas' remarks should be viewed constructively. Sex slavery definitely exists in the Philippines. Kawawa yung mga bata who fall prey to this business to earn money so their family can EAT! Amb. Thomas is just expressing his concerns & willingness to HELP in this matter & others as well-- which is my next point. More areas of the Philippines are getting SUBMERGED in neck-deep hurricane floods. FEMA offers TRAILERs to those affected by storm & fire catastrophes in the USA- like those in Katrina storm and Texas wildfires. Some are left to deteriorate after being used just ONCE. Trailers can also be used to house squatters. I wonder if Amb. Thomas can help the Phils. have some of the unwanted trailers- if Pinoys are interested>>

Name: Aiota
City/State/Country: California
IP Address: 98.112.207.138

Comments

No one can deny the fact that sex business is present in the Philippines as in other countries. But for an official representative of the USA to say that 40 percent of men or tourists go to the Philippines primarily for sex without proof of the numbers or study or census to back up the claim is irresponsible. Sans proof, an apology was necessary. As a woman I am appalled that this business exists so it is my hope that the PHL government would scrap the business. It is degrading to women and the children who become the product of this shameful so-called "tourist attraction?"

Name: LATEPOCA
City/State/Country: SOMEWHERE IN TIME
IP Address: 121.1.30.222

Comments

Why can't we accept the truth for the truth will set us free as a nation......Why we keep on hiding the truth about sex tourism? By doing that we Filipinos are more than afraid to know the specific truth about sex tourism now going own in the country.... Look why are Filipinas looking for foreigners to be their husbands??? Please think about it.

Name: juan palpalatoc
City/State/Country: jolo, sulu
IP Address: 69.230.206.214

Comments

This is our number one tourist attraction Do you think foreigners go there to spend time in Manila and swim in Manila bay and paddle a canoe up the Pasig river? Its the cheap young chicks that are readily available that are attracting tourists. Even balikabayans vacation in P.I. not to see their relatives, they hide from their relatives, but enjoy these home grown, organic delicacies. Every January Pinoy golfers travel to P. I. on a golfing safari but it is on the 19th hole that most of the action takes place.

Name: mockingmaya
City/State/Country: taft avenue, manila
IP Address: 67.181.111.76

Comments

I do appreciate your passionate commitment to intellectual discourse: to reshape society or democratic politics, to discredit corrupt political practices & so forth. I am not a columnist. But I do believe in persistent discourse as well as constant self-reflection. Keep it up!

Name: ajherrera
City/State/Country: san diego ca
IP Address: 120.28.86.212

Comments

The Philippine gov't needs to be in touch with reality - 40% of sex tourists in the Philippines is an understatement. the U.S. ambassador should have told the truth that it is 90% and not 40%. mahiya ka sa balat mo, P-Ngoy!

Name: Pete
City/State/Country: DETROIT
IP Address: 173.148.76.183

Comments

The first step of any rehabilitation is to be aware and admit the existence of the problem. It is shameful that every Filipino in the world knows about the sex market in the country while the government deny it. That is the similar behavior that leads many officials to corruption because they do not want to admit their ill doing!

Name: Pietro
City/State/Country: Cavite
IP Address: 180.194.29.174

Comments

Wow its only foreigners who want to have sex? See the mass of Filipino nightclubs, karaoke bars, sing along bar which are front for prostitution but not to foreigners Amigos: no, its to Filipinos. While foreigners frequent so called go-go bars where girls wear bikinis, we go to nightclubs with "all the way" totally nude young girls. We are hypocrites. We should not be so Victorian and open up to a liberal stand. Foreigners go to Thailand or Philippines to come to know the country, diving and other things among them some like sex. So what?

Name: Steve R
City/State/Country: California
IP Address: 98.234.19.64

Comments

One argument for prostitution is the belief that two consenting adults are the actors & neither one becomes the victim. Prostitution in this case would be a victimless crime. However, in the PH, human trafficking is against the law & prostitutes are usually the victims of human trafficking. What side of the argument should one take, the onion skinned group with the belief that prostitution reduce women as commodity or prostitution as victimless crime. The issue of prostitution will be gone when the "carabaos fly". Best we can do - closely inspect all hospitality establishment employees be REGULARLY checked for sexually transmitted diseases.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

While attending Hi Sch in the PHL I lived and ate my meals at a Roman Catholic dorm close to a US base. Still vivid is the times Fr J de H & I picked up US GIs in his converted jeepney, then we stopped at a Chinese restaurant where they let me load up on whatever I wanted to eat. After, Fr J de H drove the GIs to a whore house. They left me guarding the Jeepney while they went inside and transacted their business.

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

The Philippine government was offended by the honesty of Ambassador Thomas by saying that tourists come to the country for sex vacation. The number of 40% or 10% is not relevant. Foreign tourists come to Thailand to have sex and massage in the country's massage parlors. Tourists go to Las Vegas also not only to gamble but to have fun with hookers swarming in casinos (and hotel lobbies) or take a short trip to those whore houses or bordellos. It hurts the national pride but the truth of the matter is that prostitution flourishes where more than a third of individuals are poor. If not, tourists have to settle for high-priced prostitutes locally or take a foreign trip elsewhere where sex is cheaper to buy.

Name: mockingmaya
City/State/Country: taft avenue, manila
IP Address: 67.181.111.76

Comments

I do believe that US Ambassador Thomas Jr.'s comment on Philippine sex tourism is a step toward fuller understanding, or an attempt to articulate what majority of Filipinos believe & what they are committed to. To force women to work as prostitutes to support their families is an affront on the dignity of the human person. The present administration must realize that poverty is far from vanquished as long as corrupt politicians will continue to use public office to steal money from the people. Why corrupt practices or bad behaviours are being rewarded in politics? President Noynoy Aquino's commitment to prosecute those who committed plunder is one of the classic achievements of statecraft.

Name: Eric Reyes
City/State/Country: Montreal, Canada
IP Address: 74.58.81.43

Comments

The denial being exhibited by some on this forum would be hilarious if the consequences of the issue at hand were not that tragic for so many. Some choose to insult the messenger, calling him Black Monkey, while the gentleman from D.C. persists in the nonsense which even Donald Trump and his nutty cronies have abandoned, regarding Obama's citizenship. The fact is that if you hang out in a place like Angeles City or Barrio Barreto in Olongapo, you'd say the ambassador was off by about 50% on the low side. Hang out with the old white guys who couldn't even get prostitutes in their countries to look at them, and you see how even teenage girls are willing to deliver themselves. And now the Koreans are taking over. Yet the Ostrich phenomenon lives on. Sayang!

Name: Butnading, Karahan
City/State/Country: Los Angeles, Califor
IP Address: 99.188.151.1

Comments

Usually TRUTH HURTS !...and normally defensiveness would follow..Honesty and cleanliness of thoughts mind body and soul is the best Icon...Commentaries would not happen if there is no sources !..my worth of remark.

Name: 7gtg
City/State/Country: regnsk
IP Address: 24.89.83.99

Comments

1UP: ""The American Ambassador said he was sorry he did not say it was not true." I could not agree more..." Ang takot lang. Dapat nga magpasalamat siya dahil despite the situation in the Philippines. People still love and appreciate life and the 'things that come with it'. Anong gusto niya maging sinless, religious and mga tao? tulad ng mga bansa sa middle east, na maraming hindi takot mag huramentado? Why don't you pass a law making it illegal for your citizens to solicit prostitution in other countries? Punta-punta rito mga kababayan ninyo para mag nightlife, tapos lalaitin ninyo kami? Aba, baliktad yata ang logic niyan. Iyong mga DOM ninyo ang dapat sisihin.

Name: MARNY V
City/State/Country: PH Sex-sitivity
IP Address: 76.117.48.33

Comments

Remarks by Amb.Thomas makes PHL tourism booming w/ DOMs: Now, we have attracted more curiosity seekers & those unaware of such pleasure travels. A surge on arrival of men between 40-60 & older is noticeable, conducted by moah w/ the help of insiders! This should be good for our tourism industry but on the contrary bad for our country's image. We're still trying hard to preserve our 'mahinhin' portrayal of Maria Clara, to this day! But those days are gone for good! We can't just sit around & do nothing @ all. Blah-blah is cheap but our precious children are at stake here. PNL forum is only good for senior entertainment. Issues after issues don't produce results, not my cup of teapot. I'll do my part bc I care, pls do yours too if you really love the PHILIPPINES.

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

Juan Palpalatoc: You were wrong to conclude that the country has become a sex tourism hot spots. Sex vacation is common in Europe or in Asia. Prostitution is a business enterprise and the oldest profession. If you go to Amsterdam, Prague Dresden, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam or Japan you could get a prostitute to satisfy your sex cravings. Even without foreign tourists there will always be a "red-light district." PH is not the Vatican brother!

Name: James
City/State/Country: Philippines
IP Address: 112.198.79.240

Comments

Aren't you getting tired of insulting and downgrading the Philippines and her people? Why not recommend solution? Why put all the blame to the Filipinos, and say NOTHING about the Tourists' pedophiles, rapist from USA, and other Nations? including USA Military men? please, be FAIR enough and see reality that there are also people around the world and in USA that are worst than the Philippines' Women and children. The current topic is a worldwide problem and not limited to the Philippines only.

Name: Cupid
City/State/Country: Loveland
IP Address: 166.137.136.197

Comments

If 4 out of 10 single male tourists look for cheap sex in a foreign country and get more bang for their dollar that is not a remote possibility. Don't feel slighted. Prostitution is universal. Go to Amsterdam if you want your BP to go off the roof. And be appalled of what you see. Seriously.

Name: MARNY V
City/State/Country: Stop Blame Game
IP Address: 76.117.48.33

Comments

Filipinos have no one to blame but themselves: We allowed everything to happen & the outcome are 2 of the recent editorials by PNL (Street kids & Amb.Thomas). Our biggest blunder: Only a few resisted Marcos' Martial Law (my brother was one of them/killed)! We sold our votes for just a few pesos! And lately, we didn't kick out GMA, after a long string of left & right corruptions & anomalies. The worst are those people who are capable of doing something but just talk talk & talk & do not lift a finger to help. So the end result is our current condition. So just shut up & just watch the Philippines crumble...get it? What we need is to act to resolve the problem, blah-blah-blah is over! And don't tell me, you don't know what to do.

Name: Aiota
City/State/Country: California
IP Address: 98.112.207.138

Comments

Dear, GFJBHEDF: I went to the link you attached to your comment to support Ambassador Thomas' comment. Still, the ambassador relied on old data. The numbers could be more or less now but the arguments here stem from the fact that he had no means of proving what he said recently. He admitted it. He should be careful next time. He is a government official after all. I love the Philippines and it sad that women and children are exploited in so many ways and means there. But sometimes too, there are just too many "willing" victims. Realistically, not one country can stop this exploitation as long as there are those who are willing to be part of the exploitation. Their mothers should know better!

Name: 7gtg
City/State/Country: regnsk
IP Address: 24.89.83.99

Comments

I'm not familiar with the laws of Canada on its citizens activities overseas. But my young co-workers who went to Thailand seem to imply that it is against the law for them to solicit or hire the services of prostitutes. I did not bother checking. But if this is true then maybe it is a good one. So you bashers from other countries, why don't you reign in your pedophiles and DOM's instead of blaming the poor countries? You are the ones at fault.

Name: 7gtg
City/State/Country: regnsk
IP Address: 24.89.83.99

Comments

Butnading: "Usually TRUTH HURTS !...and normally defensiveness would follow..Honesty and cleanliness of thoughts mind body and soul is the best Icon..." I disagree. In the Philippines, the truth does not hurt anymore. An ambassador bashing on prostitution in the Philippines is like a bully. If prostitution is an ailment, a handicap, a disablement, then the ambassador is like a bully picking on the poor and weak country. This is why he apologized. And rightly so. And nobody is in denial. You and I and everybody knows and acknowledges the problem exists. So yes, you are mistaken.

Name: LPiF
City/State/Country: LosAngeles/Mla
IP Address: 121.1.11.38

Comments

PROSTITUTION is an end result of CORRUPTION, likewise DISHONESTY as by product of GREED. These human behavior is international yet we allow ourselves to be exploited and serve as a testing ground for morality. I am appalled by what I read from my fellow posters who succumbed to our media crab mentality that has dug a big hole under our feet and compromised our integrity. These are the Benedict Arnolds of our society. We are so unfairly stereotyped and singled out by others let alone our own countrymen who are culpable and undeserving. Countries that legalize prostitution, like Amsterdam and others are not being criticized for their practices? Why? Does that make them more moral? Come on, Hollywood and Vegas are Mecca of prostitution! Ha ha...

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

The government is in denial that sex tourism does not exist. It is irrelevant if the US Ambassador says 40% or 4%. Prostitution exists in big cities and even in small towns to meet the needs of the sex starved locals and foreigners as well. DOJ is in denial and PNoy is out of touch. Girls are driven to prostitution at an early age because of poverty directly and indirectly because too much people are looking for a job and could not find one. Wang wang is a catch phrase but it will not solve the economic problems of the country. If you think so, you have just lost your brain! Go and get a brain transplant pronto.

Name: MARNY V
City/State/Country: Matandang Aral, ha?
IP Address: 76.117.48.33

Comments

Attention PNL Seniors/No disrespect intended: Talaga bang magaling kayo o magaling lang kayo magsulat. Pakita sa madla ang galing ninyo para makatulong sa inang bayan na naghihikahos na. Kung hindi, tumahimik na lang kayo at naghintay na lang ng huling sandali. O kaya naman, pagpatuloy na lang ang walang katapusang blah-blah-blah! Dyan kayo magaling (hindi lahat-iyong iba may ginagawa rin) at may kasamang yabang pa ! Pagpatawad Po Ninyo.

Name: MARNY V
City/State/Country: Mabuhay PNL
IP Address: 76.117.48.33

Comments

PNL has done their job about street kids/40%sex tour per Amb. Thomas editorials but it's time for us to do something too. I'm particularly calling the attention of our seniors who are retired. This is the time for you to give back your talent & expertise to our country (if you really meant what you always say that you love the PHL). Stop your blah-blah-blah & take action now. "Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw may dahilan!" And pls don't tell me about your HBP, Glaucoma etc- excuses, excuses ! I'm out of here but I'll do something (moah-long way to retirement). FIN

Name: Oscar Aguilar
City/State/Country: Chicago,IL,USA
IP Address: 98.213.176.34

Comments

Sex trade is a virtual truth in the Philippines particularly in big urban areas. These women are poor, no education, and unemployed. Perhaps one solution is to give them an education and provide them jobs. Let's be honest, it is a social problem in our country - the Philippines.

Name: Kimo
City/State/Country: Honolulu
IP Address: 50.43.36.123

Comments

The percentage of sex tourist given by the Ambassador is very very low, 78% is more like it. Check out the Entertainment City nearby the Heritage Hotel and you'll see that there are few Filipinos around, just the workers. I hope you can also speak Korean or Japanese if you are Filipino because no girl will approach you.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

"Prostitution may now be the Philippine's 4th largest gross national product. There are now 800,000 prostitutes working in the PHILIPPINES, half of them under age." Senator Pia Cayetano, chair of the Committee on youth, women and family relations. > LINK

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

The film "Prospero in the Philippines," from whence the 40 percent of males going to the Philippines are sexual molesters, was uttered in that Prospero film clip by Dolores Aforte, that dates back before 2010, and an ECPAT expose. > LINK

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

Marny V: But much of what is see today are not the outcomes of the Martial Law years. There was the element of "fear" which does not exist today. There were no children roaming the city streets at night; there no girls in Ermita dressed seductively attempting to get a foreign customer for a couple of minutes for fun. There were fewer people and unemployed workers. Children were in school and girls were at home helping mom in the household chores. This country is held hostage by severe income disparity, runaway population growth, and more people falling into poverty. And the government is hopeless to deal with them.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

Harry K. Thomas, was born in Harlem, NY USA June 3, 1956. Prior to replacing Fmr Amb Kristie Kenney in Nov 19, 2009, He was US Director of Foreign Svc, then US Amb to Bangladesh. Thomas joined the US Foreign Svc in 1984, serving in US Embassies in New Delhi, India, Kaduna, Nigeria, and Lima, Peru. Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Bangla, and is currently learning Tagalog. He is married to jazz singer Erika Ovette. They have one daughter, Casey Marie.

Name: LPiF
City/State/Country: LosAngeles/Mla
IP Address: 121.1.11.38

Comments

EDWARD/WDC: "Prostitution (Prostitutie) in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. In the last few years, a significant number of brothels and "windows" have been closed because of suspected criminal activity. De Wallen, the largest and best-known red-light district in Amsterdam, is a destination for international sex tourism. The Netherlands is listed by the UNODC as a top destination for victims of human trafficking. Countries that are major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine,Sierra Leone, and Romania".....Do you guys find the Philippines?

Name: JRH
City/State/Country: Montreal, Canada
IP Address: 70.80.16.192

Comments

40%, 60%, to 100%? Half a million tourists go to Boracay every year. Another half to Cebu, Palawan, Angeles City, etc. mostly Americans, Europeans, Koreans, Japanese (golf junkets) make the majority who make arrangements with Phil tourist agencies with sex included in the package in these hot spots. A recent YouTube survey involved girls as young as 7 to 17 where prostitution is the main source of income, sometimes, with the approval of the poor parents. It's a complex issue cuz of rampant poverty & massive unemployment among the poor, the uneducated, & millions of unemployable children or teenagers. This is the only means & last resort for these poor girls. Unless we improve the economy & create jobs for them this problem will persist.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

As we see, prostitution is with us throughout humanity from pole to pole, for as long as there is barter, buy and sell, the supply is there to meet demand. If it's not available in the Philippines, the better for Nevada's Bunny ranch.

Name: Lord Gago
City/State/Country: Pandango
IP Address: 166.250.69.104

Comments

I think what's hurtful about the Ambassador's comment is his understatement that only 40% of male tourists come to seek either missionary or motel room acrobatics. The real world's that 100% of male tourists come for it. Remember the biblical mandate was "go and sin no more" to a woman only but never to a man. Hence, men have the "go for it" or just do it" mantra. So the Ambassador must review his fractions and percentages when applying statistical facts, facts and figures that are usually extrapolated in most cases.

Name: JRH
City/State/Country: Montreal, Canada
IP Address: 70.80.16.192

Comments

Blind Filipinos who claim that the honor & good name of the Phils was restored & maintained are in sense illusionary & hypocritical in many a sense. The U.S. Ambassador apologized cuz he realized that his statement is not politically correct & uncalled for from a top-ranking diplomat like him. But aside from that his statement it is true & sex tourism is happening on a daily basis even now. Actually, it is a big problem that needs a solution now, but how.

Name: 7gtg
City/State/Country: regnsk
IP Address: 24.89.83.99

Comments

Cupid: "7gtg: Canada is s democratic state. I don't think their own government would restrict the activities of it's citizens other than obey the host country' s laws.." Its not worth taking the risk Mr. Cupid. its a long read but you can check this out. LINK check out section 7. Now I know why my young canuck friends kept to good clean fun when they visited Thailand.

Name: tonyO
City/State/Country: pinas
IP Address: 111.68.59.75

Comments

I agree with Gene THAT US AMBASSADOR THOMAS IS A LIAR for saying that 40% of foreign tourists in Pinas are on a sex tour and when he could not substantiate his statistics, he apologized. He’s a no good sanamabit, sanamagan unfit to represent a country as its envoy. Eh BOBO TALAGA. Dada ng dada hindi naman pala alam ang sinabsabi. He doesn't know diplomacy, @#$^%$#@.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

Dear 7gtg, Your young co-workers went to Thailand, and were told it is against the law to hire the services of prostitutes? It is, but like the Philippines, the law looks the other way, and business is booming and prolific.

Name: WDC
City/State/Country: California
IP Address: 75.38.79.23

Comments

Don't blame on the US ambassador when he said that Philippines is a sex tourist place. He is 100% right, "PHILIPPINES IS A TOURIST SEX DESTINATION". Admit it, IDIOTS, that he is politically correct. The Ambassador was raised in the US to say it like it is. If it is Red then it is Red. Don't turn Red into blue or other colors, only an IDIOT does that. And also, Netherlands or other countries’ prostitutions have nothing to do with the Philippines', so don't compare it.

Name: mockingmaya
City/State/Country: taft avenue, manila
IP Address: 67.181.111.76

Comments

A Tempest in a Teapot over US Ambassador Thomas Jr's remark can be considered as a result of a classic idea of "a long course of usurpation (abuse of power or corrupt politics), tyranny & fraud." The rich & powerful politicians rewarded by democratic ballots are not really the servants of the poor & the exploited hard-working men & women. A scholar once said that "to be poor does not mean to suffer material destitution, but to lack the capacity to effect one's life in many respects." I do believe that Philippines has been trapped in institutional crisis for a very long period of time. Why? It continues to fail to foster the capabilities of the less-fortunate Filipinos.

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

A recent blog from Tony0: "I agree with Gene THAT US AMBASSADOR THOMAS IS A LIAR for saying that 40% of foreign tourists in Pinas are on a sex tour and when he could not substantiate his statistics, he apologized." Numbers do not matter but acceptance of the fact that prostitution and human trafficking exist in the Philppines. In 1998 Kyodo News reported that there are some 400,000 prostituted women in the Philippines. A 1997 report put a number of 17,000 of child as victims of prostitution. The truth of the matter is that 50-75% male tourists visit the country just like in Thailand looking for sex. They find Asian women to be exotic and demure.

Name: 1 UP
City/State/Country: GOTHAM CITY
IP Address: 108.14.177.130

Comments

continue.. Like De Lima and the government the claim of Amb Thomas struck a sensitive nerve. Reaction: they go into a state of denial and demand for statistics. US embassy by the way is in Ermita where the place is swarming with "cock"-tail lounges. Where men love to play. BTW, the ambassador apologized to maintain harmony and admit that the numbers were much higher. The embassy is a listening post. It has the intel about the country and some of its ranking officials.

Name: GFJBHEDF
City/State/Country: Hercules
IP Address: 67.188.19.40

Comments

True, some of these ladies absolutely love what they do. Others, by force, and by necessity, and these need liberation. RC & Christian missionaries are doing best they can. Established Gov't halfway houses welcomes these ladies, if only they have jobs for them, so that these ladies can support themselves and the needs of relatives dependent on them for sustenance. It's a nutcracker. No end in sight. My thanks to the ambassador for enraging the better than thou political prostitutes. I love these politicians are contorting.