没事 (Mei Shi) No Problem

Jobay - Philippines Pedeophilia

Introduction

As usual, when I came into Sabang beach resort on Puerto Gallera island in the Philippines, I went straight into VIP Dive to have a talk with John about doing some diving. After a dive on this particular day, we went to Captain Gregg’s for a bite to eat and a couple of beers. The topic turned to the dark underside of the Philippines, in particular the sex. John told us about the man over in small LaLaguna, an area of the resort with an expanse of white beach and small luxurious cabins for renting,  who was notorious for his love of young boys. He never leaves his beach house, but often has boys staying with him. Most logical people find this disgusting and fowl, but “No one here is going to say anything when he is paying his 1,000 pesos a night for a room all in advance.” John stated so firmly. “The people here will be very Catholic and family oriented, but money makes them turn a blind eye and pretend they do not see what I going on.”

The conversation then turned to the institutional child prostitution that might be found on the island. “The last time I was here, a man and his Filipina-American wife stopped going into one of the go-go bars because they said that it had girls in the bar that were obviously too young. They said that when the police would come, they just slip out the back door, more than likely the police gave fair warning as well.” I said in passing, which triggered a thought in his head. “Yeah, there is a Japanese guy running around with a girl from the Sabang Disco that is so young, I would be embarrassed to be seen with her, but he is always running around with her.” He told us and he would know well, as his shop sits right on the walkway where men and women pass daily, and nightly. That night was the first I heard of Jobay, but over the rest of the vacation, we would meet more than a few times.

Jobay - Philippines Pedeophilia Part I

Part 1

It turns out, that Jobay and her Japanese John were staying in the same hotel as me. I was not sure that this was the couple that my friend had spoken about but, I could be sure that this girl with the missing front tooth and a frame the size of a middle school student was not of age, and probably not even close. Her “boyfriend,” a Japanese man with a shaved bald head, had a scar running across his scalp with a mouth full of gold teeth and a well exercised 45 year old body, was certainly too old for her.

For the first couple days I was in town we would share smiles as she walked in and out of the guest house grounds. As soon as I saw her and her boyfriend walking, I was immediately interested in what was happening in her situation; What was her story? How did she get her? Why was she with that man? How did she feel about being with such an old man when she was so young? Was she really as young as she looked? What was her financial relationship with this man and did she view him as her boyfriend?

The questions filled my mind in an unexplainable way.

America views the life which she lives as the utmost taboo, the most illegal, despicable, immoral, unjust, invasive, and INTERESTING topic there could be. What news program could possibly get more ratings than the times when Michael Jackson is thought to be sleeping with a young child? Gary Glitter? All of these stories of pedophilia grab the minds and imaginations of the west, in good ways or bad, and I was sleeping not 30 yards from the site where it was definitely happening. Our first direct contact came when I was sitting on the patio reading my PADI Advanced Diving Manual in preparation for a dive. As the rainy season was about to start, the rain drops were constantly parachuting from the sky, while not a downpour nor even enough to get you wet, the small droplets of moisture pattering at the neck and arms was enough warning to make people constantly pack an umbrella. Jobay walked out of her apartment, on her way to who knows where, fiddling with an old umbrella which was clearly suffering from rust in the joints and buttons. She saw me sitting and asked me for help, to which I obliged by taking apart the mechanism with a butter knife and making sure it could open properly. She thanked me for my MacGyver like actions and went on her way, but not before I could get her name, “Jobay.” At the very moment I was helping her, two fat-ass foreign girls walked by looking at me and Stanly like we were the biggest scum to ever set foot on the Earth. Fuck them, I was fixing her umbrella. Later that night, those two fat chicks had a threesome with a guy I know. To quote Stanly, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

Later in the same day Jobay was standing on the walkway next to the water, just watching the waves hit the barrier wall and obviously in deep contemplation. Since we had previously met, I did not feel too uncomfortable starting a conversation with her. I did however, feel a bit of fear that those sanctimonious obese women would come and view me as more than a lecher.

“Hey Jobay, what are you doing?” I asked to break the ice.

“Nothing, just I am bored and fighting with my boyfriend, so I come outside. Nothing to do now, but later we will go to play billiards.” She informed me.

"What is your boyfriend doing then?”

“Oh, he is just watching TV. I do not want to watch TV now, so I just take a small walk.”

“So where do you come from, what is your home town?”

“I come from Manila, but I have been staying here for four months.”

“Four months with your boyfriend?”

“Of course, we stay here together for four months.”

“Wow, you have been living in Sabang for 4 months. Do you dive or swim?”

“Nope!” “Do you go hiking in the mountains or take trips around the island at all?”

“Nope!”

“So, what do you do everyday for 4 months?”

“Umm, I don’t know. Play billiards, go to a bar…like this.”

“You mean that for 4 months you have stayed on this island, in this town and you do not dive, you only play billiards and go to the bars?”

The thought horrified me; how could any person, especially a young female, live in that town for 4 months without enjoying the sea and without going out of town? How could a person keep from going insane when they only went to those girly bars every night? For some people it might be a brilliant life, full of reading and learning. But from the sounds of it, she was trapped in her own life as being the live in entertainment for a more privileged individual.

“Yeah!” she replied.

“So, you go to the bars with all of the girls with your boyfriend?”

“Oh, no. I do not like those bars, so I do not go in them much. If my boyfriend wants to go, I can just wait for him at home.”

It was a relief to hear that she did not have to go into those bars every night and watch girls bounce around in bikinis while girls were being rented at an alarming rate. It is a guarantee that if she were to enter these bars, she would not be accepted as “one of the girls” and others have a good time with her. Those girls in those bars are on the job and want nothing more than a payday, and she interferes with that; she is their competition. I moved the conversation to other subjects.

“So, do you speak Japanese or does he speak English?”

“I only speak small Japanese and his English not so good too.”

I found this funny because if his English was no good and her Japanese was not great either, there would be no way they could communicate, but regardless of my thoughts on the situation, they had been living together for 4 months. As the conversation drew towards an end, I decided to ask the question that I really wanted to know, that was really on my mind all of the time;

“So, how old are you anyway?”

Her eyes grew big and she looked at me with investigation. I was not the only person that wondered about her age it seems. Maybe she was often asked this question. After pausing for thought, she replied;

“I am 17, but I will be 18 next month.”

Of course, if she were actually 17 then I would be shocked. To me it appeared that she was so obviously under age that she considered it a better idea to say she was underage, but only by a little than it was to say she was 18 because no one could possibly believe it. Our conversation came to an end shortly after that. Later in the afternoon, while eating lunch at the big apple, we saw Jobay playing billiards with her boyfriend. Their communication was minimal. “You bad shot. I good. Why? You drink?” This was the sort of daily activity that they had been participating in for four months.

Jobay - Philippines Pedeophilia Part II

Part II

The week wore on and I often observed Jobay from a distance; walking alone, standing alone and just thinking alone. One day, I saw her with a local boy who was obviously 13 or 14, they played together like peers. There was no older, no younger, no master or power. They played with the young flirtations of middle school students, yet her knowledge was similar to an adult. They poked and jabbed, play fighting and a banter that was obviously friendly. It was clear that Jobay was the same physical age as this boy and the boy was very young. One evening, before dinner time I was chatting to Stanly on his porch when Jobay walked past, stopped at the end of the walkway and stared out into the open sea. She stayed relatively motionless for a few moments, so I invited her to the porch to chat with us. I dove right into the interesting questions;

“How did you meet your boyfriend?” I asked straight away.

“I met him through an internet seller.” She answered shyly.

“An internet seller? Don’t you mean a website? Like you were chatting online and decided to meet?” I tried to lead her into that direction. I thought that maybe she did not know the English to describe where they met.  It is very common for girls from the Philippines to be on the internet trying to find husbands or meal tickets. But, she seemed to know my meaning and feel that the truth was something different.

“No, We met through an internet seller.” She corrected me.

I realized that she knew what she was saying and an image was formed in my mind of a website in Japanese with pictures of small girls and prices per month, sold like meat at the butcher, with happy Filipina mamas raking in a big percentage of the cash and ensuring the girls health as though they were race horses.

“So, is this man your first boyfriend?” I continued on, changing the topic.

“Oh no, before I was working in Robinson Mall in Manila and I met this older Filipino man and he was my first boyfriend. But, he was married and then had me as a girlfriend. That was ok, but then I found he had another girlfriend too. I did not like that, so I finished him. I still think about him, I cannot forget him.”

“How old were you when you were with that man?” I asked.

“Oh, about 16.” She stated ambiguously.

“Oh, so then you met this Japanese man?” I delved, trying to get some time reference.

“Yes, but before the Japanese man, I had an Australian boyfriend. He was a little old and we were only together for a short time.”

In my mind I thought, “Jesus, this little girl has been around” because she has. I began to really question her age because she said she worked in Robinson Mall; how old do you have to be to work in Robinson Mall? It must have been at least 6 months prior, so she could be 15, 16 or 17. But, it could have been a year earlier and now she would really be as old as she said. I decided to turn the topic to her history, her family life and the like.

“So, did you finish school?” I asked.

“Oh, no I did not finish, but I would like to. In the Philippines, if you want to eat, you have to work. So, instead of school, I had to work.”

“So, does your family know that your boyfriend is a Japanese man?” I asked this very personal question.

“Oh, my mother does not know, but my cousin and sister knows.” She answered automatically.

I found the fact that the youngest daughter is dating an old man and living with him for 4 months on a different island, and the mother is totally unaware a hard pill to swallow. But, to quote John at VIP Divers, “As long as the money keeps coming in they won’t say anything.” Really, if schooling is free then they should at least be given the right to finish their schooling. However, I dwelt on the idea,“In the Philippines, if you want to eat you have to work.”

“Don’t your parents work?” I asked bluntly. “My mom works, but it is not enough, I have brothers and sisters and my family has some other problems.” She answered shyly.

“What problem does your family have?” I probed deeper into the issue.

But, the wise girl that she was, she simply answered, “The same problem all Filipino families have.” This of course means nothing to me and I was not about to run around the village looking for “Curley’s ONE THING that is important in life” anymore than I was going to ask what problem all Filipino families had in common. (Curley is the character from the movie City Slickers)

It was obvious that this line of discussion had made her a little uncomfortable and she was wondering about the situation with her boyfriend, so she soon departed for her hotel room and Stanly and I enjoyed another beer. We did not talk to Jobay much more over the rest of the week in Sabang. We had our passing “hellos” and we saw her in the bars with her boyfriend. He would be sitting with the other elderly Japanese men, drinking and dancing with all the bar girls, who were really having good times with the Japanese men. Jobay sat more reserved and silent, often leaving the bar and coming back later. We left for our travels around the other islands of the Philippines without meeting Jobay again.

Jobay - Philippines Pedeophilia III

Part III 

We left Sabang on the 9th of July to travel to the Visayas area of the country. We flew from Manila to Cebu and for about 2 weeks, we traveled around to different cities and sites in those islands until we worked our way back to Sabang on the 21st of the month.

That night we went out to the bars and of course, we ran into Jobay and her boyfriend. Since we had been there before, something had changed in her attitude. She was now having a great deal of fun at the bar, talking to the bar girls and dancing with the guys. She was drinking and smoking and seemed to be more comfortable with her whole situation.

Stanley and I spent another two days in Sabang before returning to Manila the day before we both would return to our respective lives. Manila was covered in a blanket of rain that was flooding the streets and homes in certain areas. I went to a 7-11 in the pouring rain to pick up a card to charge my mobile phone so that I could continue to send messages to Jiao Jiao. I got the card and returned to the hotel, but I could not get the card to work. It said that the car I had purchased had already been used. I immediately rushed back to the store, once again through the rain, to get the card replaced. It turns out, the card was fine and I was entering the numbers incorrectly. After all of it was taken care of, the rain had ceased and I began the trip back to the hotel with my body plastered against the walls so that I could benefit from the overhanging roofs. As I got within site of my hotel, I saw someone waving at me and sure enough, Jobay and her Japanese boyfriend were standing right in front of me. I made formal greetings and exchanged well wishes and went on my way.

Across the street from my hotel was a live music bar with a cigarette vendor outside of it and she had seen Jobay walk past her with her boyfriend and she had also seen me greeting the couple. This emaciated female frame sat staring at me as I walked away from Jobay and her boyfriend and when I got within ear shot, she started asking me questions.

“Do you know that girl? Do you know that girl?” she spat at me like a hyperactive badger.

“Yeah, I know who she is…” I replied cautiously.

“You stay away, she is really dangerous. The police will get you.” she continued.

“Wow, wow! I said I knew her, I did not touch her!” I defended my statement.

“She is young, very young. Police will catch you. You stay away.” she continued to hammer her point.

Sensing that this was going nowhere and fast, I agreed with her and continued to move toward my destination. It is ironic that with over a week around Sabang, no one had said anything about the age of the girl in a threatening way. It was more of a "don’t ask and don’t tell" situation. Yet, as soon as I got to Manila, the cigarette sales woman felt obligated to steer people clear of that kind of danger. And so, on the last day of my journey, my suspicions concerning the age of Jobay were confirmed by the woman who sold cigarettes on the street across from my hotel.

The Last of the Philippines

So here it is, the finale of the trip. On the last couple days we went out to the bars with some other vacationers we met on the trip, had some nice dinners and even went to the go-go bars. I also did 2 dives with the people who got me my PADI card the year before, VIP Divers. They are a smaller operation on the beach, but they can handle big groups, they can even get Chinese courses for the
people with advanced notice.

This is me getting ready to dive. Jiao Jiao really likes this picture.

The last night before leaving, we went out to the bars until closing time. We had a great time, it was Saturday night and there was a live band at a semi-non-girly-bar that most of the non-hunters went for their kicks, but hunting was available here too. We stayed out until closing time.

This is one of the two bands that were playing that night. This is also a picture of the worse of the two bands that was playing. This band played too much slow, romantic music which in certain situations is fine, but ion this night it even put Jiao Jiao to sleep.

The bands played alternating sets, so there was not much house music time and everything flowed very quickly. The other band was much more entertaining. They had two lead singers, a man and a woman, and the woman was a charismatic personality that could work any crowd. They also had a guitar player that could really play, their last set started out with a 15 minute "face-melting" solo. We do not have pictures of that band because we were dancing when they played.

This is Jiao Jiao with a girl we made friends with, she was also in the bar that night.

After our good night, it was time to leave and, not wanting to break tradition, I threw money out the window for the kids to dive for.

After getting back to Manila, we went shopping in the mall where we had a really good time. Jiao Jiao really enjoyed seeing all of the different items that are not available in China.

Here is some sailor trying to move in on my girl. But, he does not know the secret to her heart like I do...

I got her some fake poo, and she fell into my arms. Look at that smile. haha

Then these characters wanted to get their picture taken. People in the Philippines, unlike China, often want you to take their picture.

Finally, we have these things. Jiao Jiao did not know what they were at first. Once she figured it out she laughed hysterically, commenting about how Chinese stores do not have this thing. Then, she noticed a massive sticker on the back saying, "Made in China." Eventually, she bought one.

Jungle Barbecue

At about 9 in the morning on the Wednesday, we took a jeepney around the little island. We stopped at some view points, 5 minutes each, on a long drive to our jungle entry point.  Here is a quick picture of one of the jeepneys we saw on the way. This owner's name is on the back of the truck, like all of the stores.

Isn't that the name of some serial killer from America? I swear it is.

Look-out point number 1. Beautiful, you can look for 5 minutes. No more.

Stop-point number 2. The waterfall, you can look for five minutes. No more.

After this, we headed to the drop off point where we were to walk back into the jungle for our oasis swimming and barbecue.

Along the way, many of the local children were accompanying us and making conversation with us. They also showed us many interesting things, this boy is getting a cocoa out of the tree. Apparently they are worth good money.

The cocoa.

This little guy, Brian, is trying to steal my bird. He was far more charming and handsome than I, so I kicked his ass. Chicks dig tough guys! HAHA

Finally, we reached our oasis. We swam, refreshed and relaxed.

The barbecue was going, and the feast was spectacular. The meat, fruit, coleslaw and ice- cold drinks really treated us well.

We finished with an ox ride out and a 2 hour kayaking trip that was less than climatic. It was hard work though. All in all, they day was super, it was the best organized tour I had ever taken. For the finally of this post, you can see one of the odd plants that was littering the trail to the oasis.

Some Days on the Beach

After our first relaxing day in Sabang, we decided to get busy with hard core traveling. HAHA

We woke up and ate breakfast.


This is the Filipino breakfast at Ed's. Battered milk fish, egg and rice. The fish was super nice.

This is the Pinoy breakfast at Ed's. Candied pork, egg and garlic rice. It was also good. The way that Jiao Jiao and I were eating was ordering two dishes and then grabbing whatever we wanted from the others plate so we could both enjoy a number of different dishes. We have started to do that in other places as well, like Saturday night at Outback Steak House. The problem here is that I like steak medium and she likes it well done.

After breakfast, we took a walk from Sabang to a place called Lalaguna. It is just over a little hill, but the beach is nicer, but staying there puts you far from the nightlife. Hot and sweaty, we returned to the Sabang area and booked a tour for the next day. With no real plan for the remainder of this day, we rented a boat and boat driver to take us to the "Coral Garden" for snorkeling and then "White Beach" after. Similar to the "black taxi" of China, we took a "black boat" in the Philippines. While we were snorkeling, he parked on the beach to wait. The boat police came and gave him a fine at that time, probably based on the fare he would get for our trip.

If you perv over Asian girls, maybe this will stop you. Jiao Jiao is ready to get in the water.

To finish up the pictures, I will show the pancit we had for lunch, followed by some pictures of the roundabout boat tour on the way back and then finish it up with the result of our trip.


We are on white beach, don't I look European.



Now, here is the result of our very fun day....

It hurt for more than a week!!!! It is still peeling.

To The Island

We got onto our little boat for the trip to the island resort at about 11:00. It would be about an hour and a half ride, so I got some icy cold San Miguel Beer and we sat down and relaxed. The boat did not have too many people riding, it was only Wednesday. We scooted across the water toward our destination, enjoying the frothy delight along the way.

The boats traveling to this island have increased in size since the last year. I noticed the change immediately. The previous year, we put our bags in the middle in a long row and it left no room for our feet. This year there was a whole row of garden furniture running down the middle for people to sit on.

We got to the island and the owner of Eddie's Place snatched me up and told me to follow her to a place to stay. I followed her because she was headed to where I wanted to go anyway, and she had done the same thing they year before. I believe she remembered me. After a few days, she started calling me and Jiao Jiao both by name.

We followed her up the stairs to the "Red Coast" hotel and as I walked up I heard, "Hey, you live in China, right?"

I was shocked by this, so I could only reply, "Yeah!"

"I met you on the boat last year," said the stranger. At this point I knew who it was, I had talked to an American guy on the ferry and bus back to Manila the previous year. It is "Nick" from the JET program in Japan. Small world! 2 more beers with an old friend. HAHA

We decided to go to dinner at The Big Apple that night and then Jiao Jiao and I went to lunch back down at Eddie's place. We could sit under the straw umbrella's shade and watch the boats go in and out while enjoying some nice Philippine food. For about 200 pesos, or 32 kuai, or 4 dollars you can get a nice dish. We had a chicken dish and a pork dish. The previous year, I had been living on a steady diet of Chinese food in China, so in the Philippines I had mainly consumed western delights like burgers and pizza (they do this stuff up NICE). Since returning from that first trip to the Philippines, I have eaten more western food in China, I cannot remember the last time I went to a Chinese restaurant for a meal, so this time Jiao Jiao and I often ate local dishes. She commented that, "Philippiens people also do not like to put oil on their food." To this I replied, "As far as I know, only the Chinese like to do that."

She had also commented that, "Philippines drivers really listen to the rules." Later this bacame funny because a guy we met, Colin, teaches English in Korea said, "Korean drivers and bad, but I think that Philippines is a little worse." Wonder what he would say upon arrival in China?

Here is a joke I just wrote, seriously...tell me what you think: Three Chinese touts are sitting around talking about business. The first one says, "Man my business is going great, I sell cigarettes outside of bars on Friday nights. Pulling in 100-150 rmb a night." The second guy says, "Mine is doing ok, I sell newspapers to parked cars at stoplights. I get about 50 kuai a day on a good day." The third guy is laughing histarically and offers to pick up the tab, "My business is doing awesome. I sell clean underwear to foreigners getyting out of taxi's. If the foreigner is having a really bad day, I can get 1,000 kuai a pair." HAHA

Sorry, time for the pictures...

Our boat to the island.

Eddie's Place.

The view from our room.

The boat welcoming crew and touts.

Finally, the kids that ask the people leaving to throw coins into the water so they can dive and get them. Of course, it is a scam to get money, but they are really good at it. Jiao Jiao noticed that they always give the money to one boy. The Godfather of diving beggars.

Egotism in Advertising

We decided to move out of Manila as soon as possible, there is not really too much to see and do in the city. The two choices available were 1) taking a plane to Boracay or 2) Taking a bus and boat to Sabang, the beach resort where I had stayed before. I heard that Boracay has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, but it is very touristy. Sabang, is less tourist oriented, smaller and it is cheaper to travel there. But, what most shaped the decision was the fact that the Boracay plane flew out at 8, but the airport was about 2 hours away, making this a start at 5 am trip. That sealed the deal for me, back to Sabang it was.

On the bus trip, I noticed a funny thing about all of the shops sitting shoulder to shoulder along the road, they were all named after their owner. Never the name, Super Snack Shop. These communities do not seem that small, but maybe everyone can know who exactly Amy of Amy's Shop actually is and moreover, they choose Amy over Sanchez. Odd indeed.

Those stores were the view most of the way, but there were a few other funny signs to show that were not someones name.

I do not understand the language of this sign. A pre-starter would never be able to begin, am I wrong? But, I do like the idea of food being anti-scouring...it sounds like the scouring food would be rough on the way out.

My misunderstandings of language continue into other signs as well.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I am gonna wager 200 that a ro-ro vehicle is a boat. Maybe that is the lane that all trucks pulling a boat should take through the toll booth, we are at the port.

The Trip (Part 2)

After our Makati wanderings, we went back to the Malate area and decided to have dinner on the pier because all along the seashore there are small restaurants with bands. We found one that looked to be ok and sat down. Now, when we sat down and ordered we did not realize who the band would be. Shortly after ordering, we found out- The Fat Babes!

The dinner was good, the entertainment was, in my opinion, lacking something. We finished up and went back into the seedy nightlife area. We went into a bar called Amazonia, where the barmaids were all dancing on top of the coolers wearing nothing except bikini bottoms and chest paint. No pictures, sorry boys.

But, I have some more pictures of the things we had seen in the day time.

This is of course Jiao Jiao at the pier during the daytime.

This is a man bathing his baby in the ocean water. Suprisingly, the water and the area surrounding it were relatively clean.

When we were walking through Makati we were smoldering hot and so sweaty, luckily we came across this air-conditioned heaven. Can you guess what it was like inside?

Oh Hell Yeah!!! But the best is saved for last.

That is right, Rodman is still around and playing basketball. He is playing for the "Bad Boy Tour" and they are currently in the Philippines. What the whole thin is of course is basketball promotion with a few players still young enough to walk or in debt enough to join.