Bullecer: Asian tourists go to spas that offer ‘yoni’ massage

FEMALE ‘LINGAM’ IN CEBU CITY?

It is not just the lingam massage that is gaining popularity in Cebu City.

Some female Asian tourists have been flocking to massage parlors in Cebu City that offer a different kind of service called “yoni,” according to Rene Joseph Bullecer of Aids Free Philippines.

Although it is not yet as popular as lingam, Bullecer said Asian tourists, mostly Koreans, avail the services of yoni or massage of the female genitals.

“This is what the Asian (tourists) have been looking for. Filipino men touch their private parts,” he said. “These young women are looking for something. They don’t want women to do the massage. They want men. Kasagaran Asian costumers ang hilig ana (Asian customers usually avail of that).”

Yoni is the Sanskrit word for the female sex organ and is loosely translated as “sacred space” or “Sacred Temple,” according to the www.whitelotuseast.com.

According to the website, the massage was a form of safe sex and was used to assist women to break through sexual blocks or trauma.

Yoni, as well as lingam, is being offered in at least five massage parlors and spas in uptown Cebu City, said Bullecer. At least 25 percent of the massage parlors in Cebu offer lingam. He said he didn’t have the exact number of massage parlors that offered yoni.

Bullecer said a massage parlor in uptown Cebu City operates as a health spa but its male masseurs offer lingam services even to their male clients.

“Mao na ang reason nga mag balik balik na ilang costumers (This the reason why their customers keep coming back),” he said.

Bullecer said male masseurs offer lingam service to male clients because it pays big.

Patients, who are positive of HIV and are under the care of Aids Free Philippines, told him that they would get 20-percent of the fee charged to the lingam clients. They would get double or triple the amount if they would provide extra service to their clients.

Bullecer said these extra services include having sex with their clients.

Some spas in the neighboring cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu offer lingam and yoni massages. Some even offer home services.

Bullecer cited a businessman who has rented a small office space in Cebu City for his home service operation. The businessman has a stable of 20 male masseurs and transacts with his clients through phone.

The services can be done in areas chosen by the clients. The charges would normally start at P300 excluding taxi refund.

Bullecer said the data gathered by Aids Free Philippines came from HIV patients and other sources. He added they were willing to share their data with any local government unit.

Based on a study conducted by Aids Free Philippines, some 80 percent of those infected with HIV were men due to their “promiscuous” lifestyle.

From January to July this year, Aids Free Philippines recorded 357 HIV cases in Cebu City and the province.

“Men, who are engaged in lingam and even those who engage in men to men sex, do it for practical reasons. They get paid from it,” he said.

The boom of lingam started four years ago.

“Four years ago pa gasugod na ni ang lingam pero lately lang ni siya ni sikat kay karon pa ra man nahitabo nga gi openly advertise siya sa mga spa (Lingam started four years ago but it became popular lately after the spas openly advertised the service),” he said.

The popularity of lingam massage prompted male sex workers to shift careers as masseurs in spas and massage parlors because they were attracted by the fat pay check.

“Daghan na karon bisan sa mga lalaki ang ni bali na sa lingam kay ma justify man niya ang trabaho. Dili na sila matawag nga callboy, illegal. Indirectly ma legal na ilang trabaho kay naa na man sila sa massage parlor (Many of the male sex workers have shifted to lingam because they can justify their work. They are no longer called callboys, illegal. Indirectly, their jobs have become legal because they work in massage parlors),” he said.

Bullecer said HIV patients under the care of Aids Free Philippines told him that the spas where they had worked in, offered lingam for a fee of P750 to P900.

“My patients have told me that lingam is usually done during the last 15 minutes of the massage,” he told CDN.

Masseurs would get a share of 20 percent of the fee. They get additional pay if they engage in extra services with their clients.

The minimum fee for an extra service was P200. If they agree to have sex with the clients, they would get at least P600 on top of what they would get for doing lingam.

Bullecer said there were instances that while female masseurs performed the lingam, their clients would also be touching their private parts for a fee.

“The negotiation is just between the client and the attendant so ila na sa attendant ang bayad sa extra services,” he added.

Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale has proposed an ordinance that seeks to ban lingam operations in the province.

Cebu City officials are also inclined to pass a measure that will regulate lingam operation.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said they will be calling for a public hearing during the council session on Friday to hear what medical experts have to say about lingam.

He said church officials will not be included in the public hearing since they have been vocal about their opposition to lingam.

“We will focus on the technical discussion,” said Young.

Bullecer, a medical doctor by profession, said that he does not see any medical benefits from lingam.

“You can ask any neurologist. We doctors don’t believe that lingam has medical benefits. This is like herbal medicines claiming to cure certain diseases but actually, there are no medical basis to make such claim,” he told CDN.

While he supports a ban on lingam, Bullecer said this is difficult to impose because negotiations are done in private.

He, however, said there were means to curb the prostitution that would go with some spa operations through the joint effort of the different government agencies.

Bullecer said the Cebu City government could impose strict regulation on massage parlors which would include prohibition on the use of enclosed cubicles and by requiring spas to put on lights inside their cubicles.

He said the city health department could also consistently check on health cards issued on masseurs while the city treasurers office could conduct a crack down on spas operating without permit.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) could also help in the regulation of massage parlor and spa operations.

In the province, Board Member Magpale yesterday said there was no way that the ordinance crafted by Board Member Arleigh Sitoy could be consolidated to her version that would seek a ban on lingam massage in the prvoince.

“These two are so separate. Mine is for total ban while (Sitoy) is for regulating. I don’t think that can be taken altogether,” Magpale said during yesterday’s sessions when the board discussed about the status of Sitoy’s proposed ordinance.

Two weeks after Magpale submitted her ordinance that called for a ban on lingam massage in the province, Sitoy submitted his own version, which sought to regulate lingam massage in clinics with supervision from doctors and not in massage parlors.

Magpale’s ordinance was due for second reading and was referred to various PB committees. Sitoy’s version had not been referred to any committee.

Sitoy said that he will present to Magpale some doctors who would vouch that lingam has medical benefits. /with a report from Reporter Dale G. Israel –Edison delos Angeles, Cebu Daily News