Manila Curbs Children in Tourist District
Mayor Mel Lopez, stepping up a campaign against child prostitution, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew barring Filipinos age 18 or younger from Manila’s tourist district.
The mayor’s directive makes Manila’s “red light” district a “children-free zone” from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Children and teen-agers found in the area during the curfew times are to be arrested and detained at the Youth Reception Center. The order exempts children living in the area, those attending night school, those accompanied by their parents and those legitimately working in the area.
Social Services Department officials say an average of 20,000 child prostitutes ply the city’s tourist district.
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