This photo was taken on Nov. She left her partner. We have nothing. But Emily said her case was not isolated since there were other women who were forced into prostitution just to survive after Yolanda. There have been talks in Tacloban City about the likes of Emily although government agencies cannot give official confirmation.
Councilor Editha Pacuri of Barangay 88 in San Jose District, the worst-hit area in Tacloban due to Yolanda, said they had received reports about women selling their bodies following Yolanda.
Pacuri admitted that life in their village remains tough especially that at least 2, residents have been unemployed since Yolanda. Before the supertyphoon, more than 5, people from Barangay 88 had jobs. Now, only those who worked in the government or were running small businesses like retail stores had steady sources of income.
But prostitution is an open secret in the city as people talk about it although no one comes out in the open.
Benjo, 41, and a technician, said that while doing the rounds in offices and houses, he has heard stories about women forced into prostitution just to have something to eat. It was hard because the local and national governments were not able to immediately provide relief items to many areas where people were seriously affected by the floods. There were hungry children to feed and so many had no one to turn to. Some were foreigners while others were Filipinos, Benjo claimed.
