that side of The Mall

if there's one mall that's infested with pedophiles and perverts (both Filipinos and foreigners alike) then it would probably be Robinson's Place, Ermita.

to think that i hang out there often. of course, this is because i have no choice. where else can you get decent lunch? yes, there is the cafeteria but it's usually infested with freshies, sophies, and seniors, all cramming their schoolwork in the cafeteria when they can go to the library instead. i guess it's because they're "allergic" to that place. the air inside is so thick and dusty that you can't breathe.

so anyway, back to my original story. you see, i was there again today. a friend and i had to meet up with a co-writer for the school paper to buy our batch project. we hung out for a while until we decided to go to the National Bookstore. while we were in line because i was going to pay for my purchase, these two tall caucasians (nevermind the particular nationality, you might think i am biased) intentionally bumped our sophie co-worker who was wearing a mini-skirt. then they kept moving their hands so that it would look accidental. our sophie friend told mitchie and i about it after the two perverts were gone. this is case #1.

case #2 - on our way outside the mall, we passed by Starbucks and there was this Caucasian old man sipping his coffee while his Filipina girl friend stared at her untouched ensaymada. the old man didn't even treat her like she was there. at all. the little girl looked so young (God, i hope i'm wrong), around 16-19 years old probably. but that's just sad because she can be in school right now studying or working if she doesn't have the money to pay for her education.

case #3 - some time back around 2 months ago, our staff meeting ended REALLY late. i was forced to go to the Pedro Gil wing of the mall because my sister was going to pick me up in front of Starbucks. if you've never been to Robinson's Ermita at 9 PM, you'll be pretty shocked (like i was). there were a lot of caucasians and asian foreigners with their Filipina girl friends. these perverts like hanging out at the coffee shops where they can pick their choices.

so i was standing beside the railings at the entrance of the mall when this old caucasian man came up to me mumbling something with a very low voice. while he was coming closer, i stared at him with piercing eyes and walked (practically ran) away. goosebumps, dude! goosebumps! then i was informed that the railing was "the place" to pick-up Filipinas. grosss!

case # 4 - while mitchie and i were at Ice Monster, we both picked up our orders at the counter. then this OLD Japanese guy came up to us and pointed his finger on mitchie's file case. "Are you from UP?" (with his Jap accent) then i answered, "er, yes." i was about to tell him that he was occupying our seats. then he went, "i sit here because i look after your things." we were supposed to say thank you but he didn't leave! then he said, "it's okay you sit here." uh, no thanks. so mitchie and i looked for another table instead.

on ordinary days you'll see a lot of foreigners with their filipina counterparts. it's good if they're together out of love or whatever it is but if it's prostitution that i'm seeing everyday at that mall, then it's sad.

i wasn't surprised when i got a message from Friendster:

hello, i am ________ from Argentina. i am now in Manila. if you want to meet
or have coffee just message me.

he's 47 and married for crying out loud!!! even if he's not, i have no intention of meeting up with someone i don't know. maybe it's the bad preception of foreigners on Filipinas. they think that we're easy to get and we jump in elation whenever foreigners give us the eye. well, excuse me. we have brains too and we're not THAT desperate for moolah.

i just hope we could enlighten the other Filipinas out there that money doesn't just come from their foreigner boyfriends. there are jobs. we are given choices. i hope they pick another way to earn money.