Selling Sex

CEBU, Philippines - In the hope of finding a better-earning job, “Margie,”

a single parent, left her three children in Cagayan de

Oro City and moved to Cebu at the age of 21. Little did

she know that the promise of a bright future for her children would mean selling her own flesh.

Now 35 and with four children, Margie is still an active commercial sex worker in Barangay Kamagayan and has no plans of retiring just yet. “Kinahanglan pa ko magtigum para magamit nako inig mohawa nako diri puhon,” she said. Her dream is to have a small convenience store in a place far away from Kamagayan.

But in order for her to achieve that dream, Margie said she has to keep her job. Her earnings is what she uses to pay for her daily rent (P60) for a tiny room she occupies at the back of a commercial building in Kamagayan, as well as food for herself and her two-year-old son, who she leaves in the care of her older brother who lives outside Cebu City.

Margie belongs to a group of 15 to 20 females regularly seen in the dark alleys of the notorious Junquera Street in Kamagayan, with a pimp or two calling for customers. Margie sells sex for P300 per customer. P150 goes to her pimp or “bugaw,” the rest is hers.  She said she gets one or two costumers a day, or five on weekends if she gets lucky. Her average daily income is P200 to P500, just like having regular work with minimum wage, only without the usual government taxes, she said.

It was Friday night, a few hours before she would embark on her nightly routine, when The Freeman visited Margie in her little sanctuary. On hours before her “duty” starts, she said she is just like anybody else: she washes her laundry and go to her neighbor's internet shop to update her Facebook status. She even goes to church on Sundays. Several of her neighbors are also into the same business as she is, so there's nothing that actually separates her from most of them, she said.

Like most commercial sex workers in the area, Margie's skin, especially in the arms, is riddled with tiny red marks caused by regular drug use. Margie admitted she injects shabu (Methamphetamine), done by mixing the substance with distilled water, to keep her awake all night. This gives her a different high, the kind of high that could last for two to three days, which is way better than just sniffing it, she shared.

One of the common causes of Human Immunodeficiency Virus /Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or HIV/AIDS is the sharing of infected syringes, which, Margie said, she has avoided by acquiring fresh supplies at the Cebu City Health Department. She said she get her supply of new syringes during her monthly “hygiene” check-ups, as well as free condoms. “Kinahanglan gyud sila mag-condom para sa ilang kaayohan, para pud nako,” she said.

But sexually transmitted diseases and other health concerns are not on top of Margie's problems, it's her customers. There are customers who hit her, there are also those who bring her to places outside Cebu, which they call “overnight.” It's from these trips that a sex worker's life is most in danger, she said. These are things that are already out of their control, especially since a pimp controls them and makes the decisions for them. “Part man pud na sa among trabaho, kung di pud ka mosugot, mawad-an ka’g customer,” she said. There are also good stuff, she said, like having a generous “suki” or regular customers who she can bring to her room and offer to pay for her rent on top of the usual fee.

Sex workers in a particular area have a pimp or two. Margie said their group does not allow strays. To be a member, one has to be recruited by their pimp first, the same way a client signs a contract with his lawyer before they start working together. A member can, however, leave the group anytime, but can no longer stay in their territory, Margie said. She said the girls operating in Colon Street are from a different group, as well as those in other areas like Mango Avenue, among others.  They also have students, she said, but they don't recruit minors.

“Tiny,” another veteran in the business, was only 14 when she was recruited as a househelp by a friend in Davao City. But instead of being taken into a real house, she said she was brought to a “casa” in Lapu-Lapu City. After a raid, she moved to Kamagayan where she was recruited by a pimp. She hated what she was doing then but since she had no other skills, she was left with no choice. Ten years after, Tiny quit and is proud that she did not get STDs while still on the job. Her secret: condoms and staying away from foreign nationals. “Naa koy amiga sa una nga ganahan kaayo og foreigner kay galante man. Karon nana siyay HIV. Mao ng dili gyud ko anang mga foreigner,” she told The Freeman. Tiny believes HIV/AIDS is from foreigners, who like to engage in unprotected sex.

Records from the Cebu City Health Department's HIV/AIDS Detection Unit showed that there were 532 cases of HIV/AIDS in Cebu as of last year. The record may have grown since then, as Department of Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag this week admitted that from an average of nine cases per day last year, in January this year, it is 13 cases already.

Now 24, Tiny considers herself a "retiree" of the sex trade after she got into a relationship with her pimp and started living with him. Her boyfriend found a job as a barangay tanod while Tiny was recruited as "sweeper" of the same barangay for P800 a month. Her income plus her boyfriend's is just enough to feed themselves, she said. Tiny, who has dry skin due drug use, still considers herself lucky that she has finally shifted to a new life. Asked if she still aspires for more, she said: "Lipay naman lang ko ani, at least dili nako pareha sa una." But she still hopes to have her own child one day, she added.

Elsa Agabon, secretary to the Barangay Kamagayan chief Celestino Avila, said the barangay has partnered with allied agencies to provide livelihood programs, training and formal education for these women, but they refused. "Gitagaan na bitaw na sila og livelihood, pero ganahan man gyud sila og easy money. Gi-offeran nga paeskuylahon sa CTU, mamalibad," she said. Agabon, however, said after a series of raids, there are only a few commercial sex workers left in their area, all of who are not from Cebu City.

Meanwhile, Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 information officer Jaybee Binghay said they have ongoing programs for the "rescued" sex workers, mostly minors turned over to them by the police. Those rescued are housed in a facility where they are given counseling and guidance, and later on trainings and livelihood projects so that they can start anew with their lives. Sadly, however, there are still those who choose to go back to their old ways, especially the adults, she said. But Binghay added that inspite of that, there are "successful cases," former sex workers who have graduated from vocational courses.

Mylene Yecyec of the DSWD 7's Protective Service Unit said their office will be happy to assist commercial sex workers who hope to start a brand new life by providing them livelihood/financial assistance. Yecyec's office, from 2011-2012, has granted at least P10,000 to each of the 225 victims of human trafficking, who sought their help. The program is still open for this year, until it will be turned over to the local government units in 2014, Yecyec said.

The program, according to Yecyec, is open to all victims of prostitution, cyber pornography or forced labor. Majority of their recipients, she said, are former commercial sex workers. Those who want to avail of the program need only to get a referral from their LGU or any partner agencies, she added.

Meanwhile, Margie's eldest child is now 17, her second and third, 14 and 13, respectively. She said she is prepared if one day her children would despise her for being a sex worker. "Kung ikauwaw ko nila, okay ra, ako nalay molihay para dili sila mauwaw," she said, adding that now is not yet the time to turn her back from the flesh trade. Maybe when she already has enough money to start her own "sari-sari" store, she said.

"Og makalingkawas lang ko, dili na gyud ko diri," Margie said.  (FREEMAN)