BY: Joel P. Mapiles
CANDABA, Pamp. --- Due to the clamor of parents in this town, Mayor Jerry Pelayo has ordered the local police and the municipal social welfare office to crack down the culprits behind the rising sex trade in this town, which has resulted in the rescue of the five minor-victims of prostitution.
Pelayo said there is a need to neutralize this local form of prostitution and help the victims to recover before it’s too late. He said more minors are enticed to engage in the sex trade due to various problems besetting their families.
Last Sunday, Myline Biccay, acting municipal social welfare and development (MSWD) officer and the local police, presented to the mayor the five minor-victims of sex trade identified as Priscilla, 16; Maricel, 17; Rosanna, 17; Jenny, 17 and Joyce, 16 (not their real names).
They were residents of this town but most of their sex-customers are from barangays Paralaya, Gulap, San Agustin, Buas, Pescadores, Pasig, among others.
Joyce bared that most of the time, she used to go to Angeles City to meet her sex-clients through her friend, while Rosanna -- who was neglected by her parents -- is five months pregnant.
Biccay said the MSWD has already filed a child prostitution case in relation to Child Abuse Law or RA 7610 against one Linda Paguinto, who acted as their pimp and had used her own house in Sitio Tangaran, Barangay Buas, this town as a prostitution den.
Pelayo said he felt sad upon learning that these teenagers were being used in the sex trade, just to put food in their families’ tables.
As this developed, Pelayo has given the MSWDO a marching order to monitor the minor-victims and make them busy by engaging them in worthwhile activities like livelihood trainings such as soap making, candle making, “atsara” making, among others.
He also urged the parents of the victims to act responsibly and help their children recover from prostitution.
He urged the minor-victims to stop from engaging in prostitution and instead undergo livelihood trainings with their parents to augment the meager income of their families.
Pelayo said the victims should be given stressed debriefing and be given right orientation and break to move on as reformed teenagers.
He said it’s not too late for the victims to change into productive citizens and become partners in community building through the provision of livelihood and community projects.
He added that the fight against sex trade needs the participation of all sectors, not just the government and law enforcers alone.
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