Prostituted children
One in every four prostitutes in the Philippines is a child. Estimates put the number of child prostitutes in the Philippines today from 100,000 up to over 200,000. In fact, since 1998, the Philippines has already ranked fourth among nine countries worldwide with the most number of prostituted children. In Asia, the Philippines is third only to India and Thailand in the number of child prostitutes.
Areas in the country with the heaviest concentration of prostituted children are Metro Manila, Angeles City, Puerto Galera in Mindoro, and the cities of Davao and Cebu. It is said that up to 75% of prostitutes in Angeles City's red light district are children.
A Unicef study in 1984 revealed that child prostitution syndicates operated in seven provinces in the Philippines. In 1997, the number grew to 37 provinces. Their area of coverage has definitely expanded since then.
The number of adult women prostitutes declined as a result of the US military bases' ouster in 1991, but child prostitution has since escalated. One factor in its proliferation is the decadent social view that regards children as creatures devoid of any rights. Another factor is the fear among many clients of the spread of HIV/AIDS, hence the search for young virgins.
Fr. Shay Cullen, an Irish priest who has been managing a project that attends to the welfare of child prostitutes, regards child prostitution as the ultimate in exploitation. "People of other nations have exploited the raw materials of poorer countries for centuries," he said. "Now, they exploit the bodies of our children."
| 
