EdPam meets with AC businesses to discuss raids
Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan met last night with the owners and managers of many of the major establishments in the city’s entertainment district. The mayor’s meeting was held at the Estrellita Ballroom of Lewis Grand Hotel from 6:00 PM to a little before 9:00 PM. The conference with Mayor Pamintuan ran for roughly two hours, with a short presentation by Alex Cauguiran, EVP of Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) and former right-hand man of Pamintuan during his first term as mayor. The purpose of the meeting was for Pamintuan to address the very serious issue of the raids conducted by national law enforcement authorities over at some bars in Fields Avenue and the consequent damage to the image not only of the nightlife strip’s businesses but of the whole of Angeles City as well.
The mayor’s response to the raids
The mayor referred to the meeting between President Aquino and US President Obama this week, as well as Obama’s campaign against human trafficking in line with the UN 2015 Millenium Development Goals, as part of the cause of such oppressive attention from national government agencies such as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). It must be stated that the keen participation of the Philippines in Obama’s campaign and in the furthering of the Millenium Goals for developing countries has very recently gained by way of President Aquino some $434 million from USAID.
Pamintuan claimed that the recent raids on Camelot, Dirty Duck and Forbidden City, which were incited by the US and even the UN, were beyond his control.
Citizens raise their concerns on the city’s future
An open forum was also conducted where a few of the business owners were given the chance to air their views and concerns about the raids and what the threat of future raids would mean for the tourism industry, the city’s top income generator. Two very important and practical questions were raised: Why are we being targeted? -and- With the current environment, why should I bother investing in Angeles City and why make plans for making it a tourist hotspot β What’s the point?
Richard Agnew, president of the Association of Bar Owners in Angeles City (ABAC), also presented Pamintuan with his whole-hearted plea: his hope that “something could be done quickly to bring back peace and stability to Angeles City.”
Another important issue that bar owners raised was the release of the employees of Forbidden City, Dirty Duck and Club Camelot. A total of 12 girls from these bars are still detained in Precinct 174, ostensibly “rescued” after being declared minors by a hastily-conducted dental check-up. All while the girls were able to present valid IDs and documents declaring them legitimate workers. Some of the detained individuals apart from the 12 alleged minors are employed as cashiers, bartenders, waiters and waitresses – clearly having nothing to do with human trafficking and unworthy of such charges.
The problem goes further than the detained employees, however, as the three bars have no way to help even their other employees numbering close to 300, who have been out of a job since the bars were closed.
A result of misinformation and bad publicity
Angeles City has always been hounded with “bad press” for harboring a “red-light district.” However, Pamintuan himself insisted that our city’s nightlife entertainments pale in comparison to other “fun” cities like Las Vegas and Pattaya. Unfortunately, however, the stigma of prostitution is particularly felt in the Philippines, and outsiders who do not understand the inner workings of Angeles City are prone to make erroneous and tragic assumptions about its image as a tourist city.
During the open forum, Agnew cited an article which claimed that 75% of 500 interviewed workers in Angeles City bars are underaged. He added that this misinformation is a ‘disgrace’, and the real number would be under 2% which could be brought down much more through better screening by the issuers of IDs by the city hall.
Pamintuan agreed, citing his own experience with being presented with outrageous figures of prostitution and human trafficking in the Balibago tourist belt by supposed authorities in the national government. He also added that, apparently, Angeles City is considered second only to Manila in engaging in the trafficking of persons..
“It’s really beyond me, what happened, because they got all their facts wrong,” said Pamintuan.
The city’s negative image is likely part of the reason why higher authorities have turned their attention to Angeles City for “presenting a good show of force” in implementing the anti-human trafficking law. There continues to be rumors of the raids being “just for show.” What is certain, however, is that if the city does not fix its reputation quickly, then it will remain an easy prey for those who have no qualms in using the misunderstood nature of its entertainment industry.
The beginning of a solution to the raids: teamwork, cooperation
Pamintuan urged for the support of the city’s business owners in forming an organization that will deal with the current misinformation and prejudice of national authorities against Angeles City. The organization would necessarily be a composite of different sectors of the city – in business, law enforcement, and local government. The mayor hopes to get someone from the national level to be part of the team as well.
The organization’s first task will be to help the mayor in his presentation in defense of the city’s entertainment industry and in the delivery of accurate and unprejudiced data of the nightlife strip’s business operations. “We need to come up with real facts,” the mayor stressed.
Furthermore, Pamintuan emphasized during the meeting the need for the city’s tourism plan to gain 100% support from the participants. In light of the close scrutiny on the entertainment strip, it becomes all the more necessary to concretize the transformation of Fields Avenue into a wholesome district filled with bars and restaurants and with a controlled area for adult entertainment.
As for Pamintuan’s personal stance on the businesses in Fields Avenue, he stated, “I will not be like Mayor Lim.” By this, Cauguiran elaborated, the mayor meant that he will not “clamp down” on bars or order a massive closure of establishments.
Pamintuan said he had only sympathy for the bars and nightlife establishments. He vowed to ensure that any national government agency should first coordinate with the Mayor’s Office and local enforcement agencies before conducting any operation in this city.
Will there be more raids to follow?
Asked whether Pamintuan is expecting any other raids to follow after the Aquino trip to the US, the Mayor replied that he doesn’t think so.”
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