Prostitution

Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual relations in exchange for payment or some other benefit ( Roberson & Garrido, 2016).Depending on the jurisdiction, prostitution can be legal or illegal. The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country, ranging from being permissible but unregulated, to an enforced or unenforced crime, or a regulated profession. Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal. Penalties range up to life imprisonment for those involved in trafficking, which is covered by the Republic Act No. 9208 (also known as Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003). According to McEvoy’s (1993-1994) case study, prostitution is usually accessible through bars, KTVs, massage parlors, brothels, street walkers, and escort services. In 2013 it was estimated that there were up to 500,000 prostitutes in the Philippines. In the “Anti-Prostitution Act” (Senate Bill No. 2341), Senator Pia Cayetano claims that the total number of people being exploited in prostitution in the Philippines could be as high as 800,000.

Some view prostitution as a form of exploitation, alienation, and violence against women and children, which helps create a supply of victims for human trafficking. I, for one, am against prostitution. Although legalizing it has its pros such as insert something, we can’t dismiss the fact that prostitution is immoral. As we all know, our country is abundant with different religions. According to Miller (1982), the Philippines is the 4th largest Christian country worldwide, with more than 86 percent of the population that is Roman Catholic, 6 percent belong to various nationalized Christian cults, and another 2 percent belong to well over 100 Protestant denominations. In addition to the Christian majority, there is a vigorous 4 percent Muslim minority. Scattered in isolated mountainous regions, the remaining 2 percent follow non-Western, indigenous beliefs and practices. (The Chinese minority, although statistically...