There are spas and there are massage parlors. I would like to believe that there is a difference between the two. So where does this raging issue of Lingham fit into this equation? I submit I don’t really know much about the so-called Lingham massage technique simply because I have never tried it before. But the lines between spas and massage parlors have been clearly drawn, especially massage parlors that are clearly engaged in the sex trade and are only massage parlors in name. Surely a customer can very clearly distinguish which is which.
It is no secret in Cebu that if you want to do some hanky-panky, you simply get into a taxi and go to D. Jakosalem St. across the old Gem Theater or stop at the corner of the University of San Carlos (USC) main building where your friendly, if not pesky neighborhood pimp or “bugaw” will offer you the range of girls (or boys) that fits your sexual fantasies. If you want that hanky-panky in a massage parlor, you already know which one to go to. But if you’re intentions are to get a real honest-to-goodness massage, there are places in town that give you that service with an honest smile.
This Lingham massage should fall into that category where the customers are looking for sexual pleasure. I’m sure it’s not really legal anymore. But then, why is there so much fuss about this when prostitution dens are still operating openly within Metro Cebu? They are not legal, either but they are there operating under someone’s protection.
The police do not even need any intelligence funds to find out where these prostitution dens are, just let them take a taxi and the driver will drive them there. If the authorities truly want to rid Cebu of the flesh trade, they can really do it. But it’s more than obvious to me that someone doesn’t want these things to stop. I dare say that those who are trying to stop this Lingham business should show their mettle and stop everything else!
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I read that report that some 247 houses along rivers, esteros or creeks along the flood-prone areas of Barangay Mabolo, Basak San Nicolas, Tinago, Tejero, Cogon-Pardo, Inayawan, Duljo Fatima, San Roque and Bacayan have been earmarked for demolition by members of the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).
DWUP Chief Danilo Gabiana pointed out that these structures pose a great danger to the lives of the residents living in these identified areas, especially when the rainy season comes. Councilor Roberto Cabarrubias, head of the Committee on Infrastructure in Cebu City will soon be meeting with the barangay leaders of these identified areas so that those living in the danger areas can be informed of this demolition plan so they can vacate voluntarily.
They should have done this a long time ago. Unfortunately, no one had the guts or the political will to use the powers of the government to prevent these folks from the floodwaters when the rains come. Perhaps we can find that political will with our newly-elected Mayor Michael Rama? But more important than getting these folks out of the riverbanks or the sides of our esteros today, is a plan to ensure that these people would no longer return to their old dwelling areas. That plan should also include the possibility of other urban poor residents from taking the place of those whose houses would be demolished.
One way of ensuring that no one will return to the places where their homes were demolished is for the government to get back the 3-meter easement that is supposed to be structure-free according to the National Building Code (NBC). Meanwhile initially, some 247 houses have been identified for demolition. So, where would the City of Cebu relocate these folks? How I wish that the Rama administration would come up with a 10-year housing program with the Gawad Kalinga (GK) of Tony Meloto and the Couples for Christ to remove all squatters living in our riverbanks and esteros and putting them in GK Villages.
What I especially like about GK housing projects is not the quality of the homes that they build, but rather, it is the result of their administering to the spiritual needs of the people living in GK villages and transforming them from undignified squatters and into a community of proud Filipinos. I’ve been to the GK Village in Budlaan that PLDT has sponsored and I was truly amazed about the transformation of these people.
If Mayor Mike Rama can pull this off, he would end up as one of the best Mayors Cebu City ever had… because under the previous mayors, Cebu City did not only experience urban decay, we ended up having so many squatter colonies, something that could have been prevented a long time ago.