Commercial sex workers rising

08/08/2010 - THERE were 1,827 commercial sex workers recorded in Cebu City from January to July this year, city health authorities said.Of that number, 186 are male sex workers.Dr. Ilya Tac-an, Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) chief of surveillance, said the figure represents a fast increase from the 2,360 recorded last year. Tac-an said there are still 1,000 sex workers that were not registered for sanitary cards in their office.Dr. Josef Bullecer, former chairman of the Cebu City Anti Indecency-Board (CAIB) said the numbers show a decline in morals in the city.He blamed this on the prevalence of “extra services” in spas and massage parlors. Bullecer said prostitution will be reduced if tougher laws against it are enforced by the police.Bullecer said one way of curbing prostitution is to strictly implement the anti-vagrancy act. He also challenged Dr. Lucille Mercado, the new CAIB chairperson, to eliminate prostitution in Cebu City./Fatrick Tabada, USJR Intern. (Cebu Daily News)