Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal, although somewhat tolerated, with law enforcement being rare with regards to sex workers. Penalties range up to life imprisonment for those involved in trafficking , which is covered by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of In , it was estimated that there were up to , prostitutes in the Philippines , [4] from a population of roughly Citing a study, Senator Pia S.
Prostitution caters to both local customers and foreigners. Media attention tends to focus on those areas catering to sex tourism , primarily through bars staffed by bargirls. Prostitution in Olongapo City and Angeles was highly prominent during the time of the U. Some of the associated prostitution trade closed with it, but when the mayor of Manila , Alfredo Lim , closed down the sex industry area of Ermita in Manila during his first term starting in , many of the businesses moved to Angeles, finding a new customer base among sex tourists.
Other tourist areas such as Cebu have also developed a high-profile prostitution industry. There is no one single reason for the widespread prevalence of prostitution in the Philippines.
Poverty is but one reason, as cultural factors and the attitude of people toward money and the social acceptance of prostitution play a major role. Per the Philippine Statistics Authority, in the Philippines had a poverty incidence of Prostitution started around Clark Air Base in Angeles since the early s, when the base assumed importance because of the Vietnam war. During the s, the main street of Olongapo City had no less than 30 girlie bars catering to the wants of U. Navy troops visiting Subic Naval base.
The city acquired the pseudonym "Sin City". The American authorities supported the testing of the prostitutes for STIs by the local health authorities. Without the licenses issued with these examinations, the prostitutes were prevented from working. Angeles and Olongapo health authorities passed on photographs of sex workers who had failed STI tests to the U. The closure of the U. Fields Avenue near Clark Angeles continued to grow as a center of the sex tourism industry, under the umbrella of " entertainment " and " hospitality industry ".
