Anti-prostitution task force set up by DPS
An anti-street prostitution task force involving various government agencies will patrol the red light district of Garapan in an effort to curb the proliferation of flesh trade in the main tourist belt.
Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram said his office will work with the Departments of Labor and Immigration and Public Health, as well as the Bureau of Tobacco and Alcohol and other concerned agencies to check on the increasing number of prostitutes and pimps who flagged down passing tourists and commuters around the Garapan area.
“They are becoming more aggressive and they are nuisance,” Ingram said.
Even along lighted streets, arm-pulling and aggressive solicitation have become visible to ordinary bystanders and commuters.
Although this offense is considered only a misdemeanor and faces minimal fines, Ingram said the anti-prostitution effort will likewise weed out overstaying aliens and nonresidents performing tasks outside their job category.
“All these we will turn over to DOLI,” he said.
DPH will focus on health problems stemming from prostitution like sexually-transmitted diseases.
This is not the first time that government agencies have cracked down on prostitution. In the past years DOLI personnel patrolled the Garapan district in golf carts to increase visibility in the area. Shortly after a measure was put in place widening the scope of the law against prostitution, arrests were made by DPS.
But as the campaign died down, prostitutes and pimps are back on the streets to continue with the flesh trade.
