A Brief Historical Overview of Prostitution in the Philippines

PRE-COLONIZATION PERIOD
When the Spanish came they chronicled some pre-existing sexual practices by Filipinos which they considered lewd, vicious and perverse. They observed that society did not value either virginity or monogamous marriages. The Spanish chroniclers wrote that virginity was, in fact, believed to be a hindrance to marriage and that to reach the place of eternal bliss, women must have lovers. There were males who would even offer their services for initiating women to the sexual act. Unwed mothers did not decrease their chances of marriage. Despite this sexual freedom, most of our ancestors kept monogamous instead of polygamous relationships. There were laws which penalized illicit behavior between men and women, effectively restricting promiscuity and preventing prostitution.