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Zamboanga City crisis evacuees turn to prostitution


Seven months after Zamboanga City found itself a battleground, with several gunbattles between security forces and the Nur Misuari-faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fought along city streets, locals displaced by the fighting have still not been able to rebuild their lives and have turned to prostitution in desperation. In an interview aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” Tuesday night, a zone leader at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex evacuation center revealed that one of the tents in their area serves as a brothel. “May tent talaga, yung isa giniba na. May nagsabi na yung sa isa , doon ginagawa 'yung (sexual act) 'pag gabi,” the zone leader, who refused to be identified, said. The Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex is the largest evacuation center in the city. More than 2,000 families are living in the complex. The zone leader also revealed that some of the prostitutes were minors. Meanwhile, PO2 Ella Mae Basilio of Zamboanga City Police said that more than 20 people from various evacuation centers in the city were recently diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections. Basilio said three of those infected were minors, with the youngest 12 years old. “Kahirapan ang reason nila...Text, text daw po pwede na. Pupunta lang tao sa labas, dun ang bagsakan sa (Joaquin F. Enriquez Sports Complex) grandstand. May isang tent, doon ang meeting place at doon na rin nangyayari ang gawain," Basilio said. Dr. Kibtiya Uddin of the City Health Office's HIV AIDS surveillance section said they were giving evacuees who may be involved in the prostitution medical check-ups and health lectures. “Gina-gather namin lahat yung people in the prostitusyon, nile-lecturan namin, at ini-smear (Pap smear) namin sa grandstand. Tapos kumuha din kami ng (sample) ng dugo and we distrubuted condoms,” Uddin said. The two-week long war that broke out in Zamboanga City in September 2013 killed 140 people and displaced more than 19,000 families, “24 Oras” reported. — Elizabeth Marcelo/DVM, GMA News

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