13 ANYOS NA DALAGITA NAGBEBENTA NG LAMAN PARA LANG MAY PANG DROGA ANG KANYANG MGA MAGULANG!

Being a teenager is one of the most exciting phases in one’s life because it’s the period where one transitions from being a kid to becoming an adult. But for young ones living in dire poverty, becoming a teenager means striving to earn a living, even if it means engaging in prostitution. And for Anna (not her real name), she plays a different kind of ‘laro’ as one of the thousand girls working as a child prostitute.

In a 2014 episode of the GMA documentary show “Reel Time,” the story introduces us to Anna, a 13-year-old girl living in the slums. To provide for her family, she started working in the streets as a prostitute. Anna relayed how it all started for her:

“Dun po ako nagsimula, yung nakagalaw po sa dalawa kong kaibigan. Ano po, yun na, umaano na po ako ng customer, kumukuha, nagpapabayad na. Hinahawakan po nila yung kamay ko. Tapos inano, yung bunganga ko, tinakpan. Dun po ako nagsimulang mag-ano ng, magtrabaho nang may bayad.”

According to the young girl, she gets paid a measly Php150 for fondling one’s private parts until it becomes more intimate – a play that gives her money. Every night, this 13-year-old earns Php2,000 for serving 10 clients. However, most of her earnings go to her parents. In turn for her hard work, Anna only receives Php20.

“Tuwing gabi po, sampu na mga lalaki customer ko. Ang kinikita ko po dalawang libo, tapos binibigay ko po sa nanay at sa papa ko po. Lahat. Binibigyan lang po nila ako ng bente pesos.”

Anna knows that most of the money was spent on illegal drugs, shabu, to be exact. It has become a daily routine for her parents to get high and furious after the effects wear off. The young girl calls the manic episodes “magto-toyo” as her parents go on an angry rampage.

When the interviewer asked Anna’s mother if she has habits, she only mentions drinking and smoking, adding that she already changed for the sake of her children. Moreover, she denies knowing about Anna’s nocturnal activities, saying, “Nagbabarkada siya.”

She continued: “Naglalaro lang daw sila hanggang ilang araw na siyang hindi umuuwi.”

Confronted with the 13-year-old ‘s work as a young prostitute, her mother shrugged off the dangers relating to such profession, and only has this to say: