Recently, the Filipino government announced measures to try to control and clean up the country’s growing child prostitution and sex tourist image. Working bar girls are now required to be registered, be at least 18 years old and have frequent health checks for sexually transmitted diseases and tested regularly for HIV infection.
Payoffs to city officials are not uncommon by bar owners, in return for them turning a blind eye. One story I heard claims that a certain bar was closed after recent elections when the owner refused to pay the new mayor a backhander. It was closed down, a couple of weeks later it opened under a new name with a different owner, obviously the new owner being slightly out of pocket. These political payoffs are just part of doing business the Filipino way.
A bar-fine is a fee you pay to the bar owner or mamasan for lost lady drink fees. This allows the girl to leave the club/bar early and spend the rest of the evening with you – lady drink prices range from about £2 to £5, depending on location. A bar-fine would be in the region of 10 x lady drinks, or depending on potential trade for the evening.
Bar-fining a girl is a fee for her companionship, and allegedly not a payment for sex. Typically, the girl would expect a small tip in the morning for her companionship! Bargirls would also expect about 50% of the bar-fine from the bar owner or mamasan.
No matter how you dress it up, the term ‘bar-fine’ means you bought a hooker. Since prostitution is technically illegal, this is the only way bar keepers can protect their operations within the “law”.
A tiny bar with 5-6 tables in it with 20-30 scantily clad young girls working there may call themselves dancers or guest relations officers or whatever. It’s still a whorehouse and they are still prostitutes.
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