THE LATEST on social and mainstream media was the arrest of two conmen/bloggers who attempted to extort some money from newbie senator Bong Go.
Further questioning by the police revealed or rather made Edgar Buluran and Dennis Borbon confess that they were also bloggers hired by losers former senator Bam Aquino and wannabee senator Gary Alejano to post and discredit administration senatorial bets and President Duterte himself to the tune of P20,000 to P40,000.
This is prostitution in its basic essence – doing a service for a fee or monetary consideration; the service being not sexual favors does not make it any different.
And that seems to be the trend in media these days i.e. “praise releases” and other forms crudely disguised as “news reports”.
Journalists who write to inform and as an advocacy seem to be a dying breed.
And we segue to the world’s oldest illegal profession and why it should be legalized.
Before we start our “erotic conversation” let’s define first the two words that will be the main subject and the title of this column.
Legal – According to the Oxford Dictionary it means “allowable or enforceable, being in conformity with the laws of the land and the public policy”
Prostitution – the work of a prostitute: the act of having sex in exchange for money or the use of a skill or ability in a way that is not appropriate or respectable
Prostitute – a person, typically a woman, who engages in sex for money. Let me just add here, nowadays this is no longer exclusive for women as we have male and transgender prostitutes, too.
Prostitution is the world’s oldest profession with records dating as far back as biblical times. It is probably safe to say that Abraham or Moses must have one way or the other enjoyed the services of prostitutes. Throughout the course of history there are notable mentions of women that come from the oldest profession and have somehow shaped or influenced the outcome of important events. Who can forget Evita Peron of Argentina or Madame du Barry, the official mistress of Louie XV of France just to name two.
And, of course, we have Jesus Christ himself who also enjoyed the company and services of Mary Magdalene who, if we are to believe the Catholic Church, is also a prostitute. There’s a conflicting school of thought to that claim by the Catholic Church as historians have discovered the “Gospel of Mary Magdalene” which was kept hidden by the Church until this discovery, in that it says that Mary Magdalene is not a prostitute but a noble woman that in fact became the wife of Jesus Christ and bore him children. Of course that is another story and we’ll talk about it in another column.
So back to the “world’s oldest profession”, there are advantages and disadvantages if prostitution were to become legal in the Philippines. Come to think of it, I don’t see any disadvantage, only advantages. Let’s discuss them one by one.
Just like any profession, if legal then it will be regulated and taxed. And what does that mean? Simple really, the government gets additional taxes and if the President is still Duterte more money for social services.
Being regulated, it means the Department of Health can control and prevent the side effects of prostitution which are sexually transmitted diseases. It also means SSS and PhilHealth coverage for the licensed sex worker or legal prostitute.
Being legal will also mean that the status of “sex workers” or prostitutes will be elevated as they are now legal professionals, which mean better services for the consumers.
And since prostitution is now a legal service the customer can always go to the Department of Trade and Industry to file a complaint if he was not given the services as advertised.
And speaking of adverts, with the legalization of prostitution the advertising industry will have a new and exciting field of challenge instead of the usual laundry detergent, shampoo or instant noodles. Kris Aquino will have new products to endorse.
There will be a boom in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry as demands for condoms and birth control devices and pills will skyrocket, likewise for makeup and other beauty products.
The tourism industry will have a boost. Legal prostitution will give rise to “red light districts” similar if not better than the world-famous major tourist attraction in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands or Holland.
If prostitution does indeed become legal, then the Department of Tourism will not be spending millions of pesos on advertising in television; as long as the girls/boys perform then the customers are happy. Word of mouth spreads across Europe and the rest of the world that “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”/PN
