View source for Bribes and blackmail: business as usual in Pagsanian

I'm writing this from Pagsanjan, the beautiful town about 70 miles from Manila that in pedophile lore is so legendary a place. This is a follow-up report on my previous article, published in the January/February I990 <i>Bulletin</i>.<br>
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In late February, three police pretending they were from the Commission for Immigration and Deportation (CID) but who were in fact former prosecutors with Narcom (the Philippine anti-drug agency) together with some local cops, parked two cars early in the morning in front of the lodge resort that is one of the principle places visiting boy-lovers stay.<br>
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On the arranged denunciations allegedly made by four teenagers, the agents blackmailed 12 pedophiles who were staying at the lodge and in various private houses of Pagsanjan. Each of the men were forced to pay about $1,700. For their work, the four boys, aged 17-19, received the equivalent of US$170 each. But because of the rage they provoked with their denunciations among the residents of Pagsanjan, who generally support the local boy hustling scene, the youths disappeared into the woods where they now live in hiding from the local police. This information was gathered from a private sources. I arrived in town on a rainy afternoon three days later. There were absolutely no tourists in the whole area. Early in the morning, six boys were queueing up at my door asking for a "short time" and some money. Nevertheless I packed my things and went away after a solitary night.<br>
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Since the first raid in 1986 against pedophile tourists in Pagsanjan, the harassment has continued. Similar cases have been reported in Puerto Galera, another popular resort area. I was told of a rumor that higher—ups in Manila were aiming to to oust Pagsanjan's gay mayor, and that this was part of the reason behind the raid.<br>
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The mix of "morality" and blackmail is ironic, but typical for a poor, corrupt country like the Philippines. In Manila, for example, police on the make collect protection money of $500 to $1,000 from Chinese businessmen.<br>
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It is no secret that there are thousands of practising pedophiles among the Filipinos themselves. Boy-love is part of the culture in many Asian countries. Unlike the white foreigners, most of them are invisible thanks to their skin color and because they are not expected to have a lot of cash on hand. The "ugly pedophile" is by definition a middle-aged Westerner with lots of dollars. Hundreds of foreigners are blackmailed in the Philippines, especially by CID and Narcom agents.<br>
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There is blackmailing in Thailand, too. In July, 1990, for example, two Germans and a French tourist were forced to pay $2,500 each, and then they had an official trial, which resulted in another fine. In periodic raids, boys are picked up by police, forced to denounce sex partners, and themselves punished for going out with men. But the scene still goes on, though with the Thai AIDS timebomb ticking, expect a growing backlash against even the most blameless and humane varieties of sex tourism.<br>
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Twisted morals and sexual repression always produce worse abuses and evils than regulated legalization and tolerance.<br>
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<i>source: Article 'Bribes and Blackmail: Business as Usual in Pagsanian' by A.R.; Nambla Bulletin, vol. 12, no. 7; September 1991</i>

[[Category:Philippines]]
[[Category:Filipijnen]]
[[Category:Child & youth prostitution]]
[[Category:Kinder- & jongerenprostitutie]]
[[Category:Thailand]]
[[Category:Blackmail]]
[[Category:Chantage‏‎]]
[[Category:Sex tourism‏‎]]
[[Category:Sekstoerisme]]