Bicol Not A Whorehouse for US Troops

Outraged Bicolana Shouts
Bicol is Not A Whorehouse for US Troops

Reference:

Catherine Ascutia, Spokesperson Bicolana-Gabriela Albay Chapter

Mobile Number: 09273849443

Early morning today, outraged Bicolanas expressed their anti Balikatan sentiments infront of the Alicia Hotel, where US troops are billeted in Legazpi City.

Furious of the encroaching troops’ exploitation and prostitution of women during rest and recreation periods, Bicolana Gabriela massed up before the Alicia Hotel as the US Balikatan forces are once again on their respites.

Bicolana Gabriela exposed the worsening prostitution and sex trafficking during the Balikatan exercises, with militant women members, as well as equally angered communities conveying reports of prostituted women being preyed upon by the unwelcome soldiers.

“We cannot let this pass. Bicol region is not a whorehouse for these US soldiers. We will not let these foreigner-soldiers rob us of our dignity, we will continue to express our basic rights as women, and as patriotic Filipinos,” says Catherine Ascutia, spokesperson of Bicolana-Gabriela Albay chapter.

Balikatan war exercises are being conducted on poverty-stricken communities of the region. This is doubly devastating, as US presence renders Bicolanas vulnerable to exploitation and prostitution. Consequently, prostituted women are being delivered as treats for the US troops in Legazpi City and Sorsogon City hotels where they are staying. Even Balikatan-obliged barangays, particularly in the town of Pioduran in Albay, are now corrupted with an upsurge of prostituted women being provided for the US troops.#