Letter, Prostitution, and Steps

When Ferdie got home he handed me a white envelope saying “You have a letter from your son.”

And I just knew. I jumped around the house, giggling like a schoolgirl who has just received a generic reply from the Backstreet Boys fans club, while clutching the white World Vision envelope to my chest. Ferdie looked at me like I was mad.

I’ve already seen the letters some of my friends have received , and I knew that what I’ve got in my hands was the first letter of my sponsored child, Romnick. I hurriedly opened it and was very pleased to see his neat handwriting. This is what the letter said:

 

Dear Sponsor,

Magandang araw po sa inyo. Ako po si Romnick _________, Nonoy po ang tawag nila sa akin, panglima sa magkakapatid at kasalukuyang nag-aaral dito po malapit sa amin. Mahilig po akong makipaglaro sa aking mga kaibigan at masaya po akong pumapasok sa school. Kumakain rin po ako ng gulay at isda. Paborito kong kulay ay pula. May pangarap po ako, gusto ko pong maging pulis balang araw. Nagpapasalamat po ako na isa po ako sa mga nakasama sa sponsorship program ng World Vision.

Maraming salamat po sa inyo.

Ang inyong sponsored child,
Romnick

 

I read and reread his letter and felt overcome with a different kind of happiness. And I told myself, I’m gonna help you reach your dream Romnick, no matter what it takes.

 

 

Actually, last month was pretty tough for me, financially speaking, and World Vision had to repeatedly remind me that my 450-peso pledge was overdue. I had to give some extra money for my family, and an old friend came to me needing money very badly. I gave them what they needed had nothing left for Romnick, or even for myself. So, last month I broke one of my general rules in life, and that is to never borrow money. 

 

Now, things are getting better. I have another teaching commitment starting tomorrow until April, which will double my current income. The family’s okay, and I have paid for my debt, have sent money for Romnick, and though I haven’t heard anything from the friend who owed me yet, I’m sure he’s gonna return what he borrowed when he’s ready . Money is gonna be flowing smoothly again, and that makes me think of a very old kindergarten maxim “When you give, you will receive.”

 

Siksik, liglig, umaapaw.

 

Sponsor a child today: http://www.worldvision.org.ph/

 

 

Prostitution

I watched Imbestigador last night and all of their exposes in that episode were sex-related. There was this 38-year-old guy who was living with a 13-year old girl. From Tarlac, the suspect Abraham (whose last name I can’t remember) took the girl, Grace, to Subic, and they lived together in a small, one-room house.

 

Grace sent her mother a text message saying she wanted to go home, as Abraham is hurting her. Imbestigador found the house they were living in, and arrested Abraham who will now be charged with corruption of minor and another case for the physical injury he had put upon Grace.

 

The second case was that of the bar-slash-whorehouse in Caloocan City. It was hidden, with no signage, and the way to get in was through a dark staircase. On the second floor, drinks are served and women are offered. The third floor is divided to several small rooms where the prostitutes carry out the ulitimate service. The price of a woman and a room is a mere 150 pesos.

 

Whenever raids like these are aired on TV, the prostitutes are often referred to as the ones SAVED in the operation. There are almost always some minors, and all of them have the same sad story of being forced into that kind of work.  But I honestly think some of these women choose this profession, and I don’t doubt that some would go back to their old ways after all those DSWD counselling sessions.

 

This made me think of the severity of prostitution in this country, and the legalization of it makes sense to me. Religion and morality aside, a legal but regulated flesh trade can have its advantages.

 

If prostitution were a recognized industry, then perhaps we would hear less of those “I was promised a decent job in the city and then was brought to this whorehouse and I didn’t have any other choice” stories. Those who want to be prostitutes, can be prostitutes.  Of course,  only those of legal age can be allowed to be sex workers. I also think that maybe one person should not be allowed to engage in the flesh trade for a long time. Perhaps a year or two is the maximum limit.

 

They will be paid wages according to labor laws, so we won’t hear much of those news about women giving their bodies for thirty pesos or something like that. Their wages will be subject to tax, as well as the income of recognized brothels, which is more revenue for the government.

 

Owners of these brothels must follow strict health and sanitation procedures, and their women must also be regularly tested for sexually-transmitted diseases. Thorough safe-sex procedures must be practiced at all times. Underground operations, especially those employing minors, will of course be dealt with accordingly.

 

This is just my opinion. I’ll look into the cases of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, and other jurisdictions were prostitution is legal and see if I change my mind.  

 

 

STEPS

As I was on a bus going to Makati, the conductor put on a STEPS concert on the DVD player. To those who don’t know, STEPS is a pop group made up of three women and two men, and they managed to have several hits in the late ninetees until 2001. What made this group click was their easy aerobics-like dance steps, and children/pre-teens form a big part of their fan base.

 

As I was watching, I couldn’t help but chuckle and think “My future children are so gonna make fun of me when they see this thing of my era.” I actually liked a couple of their songs, like The Way You Make Me Feel, One For Sorrow, Last Thing On My Mind, and this one’s my ultimate favorite: