TOYS FOR
ADULTS
Devotees flock to Quiapo for the well-known Black Nazarene whose home is the St. John the Baptist Church, especially on Fridays. Due to the high population density in the area, business industries, big and small, materialized to offer what their proprietors think people need or want, including the proliferation of pirated goods and the occult that make Quiapo (in)famous. Add to this the sale of sex toys, usually found at the Raon (now Gonzalo Puyat) footbridge, just a stone’s throw away from the Minor Basilica, and one would be confused by the juxtaposition of divine faith and worldly pleasure in an awkwardly close proximity, as illustrated in a creative narrative titled “Patikim ng Langit” in the Philippine Collegian.
The Raon footbridge used to be littered with itinerant vendors of sexual curios that included, according to lifestyle writer Alyosha Robillos, “dildos, cock rings, and anal beads.” But these vendors and their wares are presently no longer as visible due to crackdowns by the authorities.
AN ARRAY of sex toys and stimulants. Photo by Jilson Tiu.
The sale of sex toys became rampant that Buhay Partylist Representative Irwin Tieng, along with Rep. Michael Velarde, filed House Bill 4509 in 2011 because according to him, “[t]he influence of obscene devices designed primarily for the physical stimulation of human genitals may seem unnoticed. The proliferation of these obscene devices which are insensitively and openly displayed in shops or stalls is very alarming” (“Solon Wants”). The measure seeks to penalize commercial distribution and retail of said devices with one year of imprisonment and a fine of P30,000 (ib.). Tieng noted that “the sex toys, particularly dildos and vibrators most of which are imported, are openly displayed in some shops and stalls in Quiapo, Sta. Cruz, and C.M. Recto in Manila” (Romero). Tieng takes special note that “schoolchildren and students, who are being exposed to these obscenities, may suffer disturbing effects as the devices could trigger sexually impure ideas and acts that could lead to sexually related offenses” (Diaz).
NB: HB 4509 status is “Pending with the Committee on Trade and Industry Since 2011-05-09.” (“House Bills”)
SEX TOYS are sold in broad daylight at the Raon footbridge. Photo by Tiara Mejos.
Aside from legal directives, the Manila Local Government Unit addressed this issue by conducting raids and confiscating sex toys. In February 2010, for example, Manila Police seized sex gadgets and sex-enhancing tablets (along with assorted knives and brass knuckles) in Quiapo and Sta. Cruz (Etolle). Another Quiapo raid in September 2012, headed by the Manila Department of Social Welfare and Development, led to the arrest of several vendors of sex toys who admitted to having male students as regular customers (GMA News Online). Jay Dela Fuente, DSWD head, says “the exhibit and sale of such items is banned under Presidential Decree 969, which prohibits ‘immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibition, and indecent shows’” (ib., “Presidential Decree”). The arrested vendors also sold counterfeit sex-enhancement drugs at P100 for 4 pills (Canoy). The Bureau of Customs (BOC) led its own raid in Quiapo in January 2017 and confiscated smuggled goods that included sex toys, sexual enhancement products (along with boxes of electronics and bales of rice) from China amounting to P15 million (Rappler, Sun Star).
A POLICE officer showing various penis rings after a raid. Photo by cyberfunk.
“THE QUIAPO Perspective.” Video posted by inshallahmontero.
Nonetheless, Robillos says that the few nondescript vendors still peddling their goods at the footbridge have more to offer than the usual fare. An assortment of fleshlights, vibrators, and strap-ons can be had for P500 to P1500, but what she considers the standout (because it is “elusive” due to limited supplies) is the pilikmata ng kambing (goat’s eyelashes, usually at P250 apiece)—some sort of a cock ring fashioned from goat fur meant to tickle the lady parts.
THE EYEBROW-raising pilikmata ng kambing. Photo by Jilson Tiu.
Quiapo’s (In)famous Artifacts
Benigno C. Montemayor, Jr. | November 12, 2017
Aside from Raon footbridge, sex toys and other similar paraphernalia can be found in front of unremarkable hotels along Avenida Rizal (Guerrero), at the Escaldo, Hidalgo, and Echague underpass exits (Lacson), and in “open or covert manner on many Quiapo’s many bangketas” (Silarde).
WORKS CITED
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Canoy, Jeff. “3 Nabbed for Selling Sex Toys in Quiapo.” ABS-CBN News, 26 Sep. 2012, news.abs-cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/09/26/12/3-nabbed-selling-sex-toys-quiapo. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
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Etolle, Nestor. “Cops Seize Deadly Weapons Sold in Quiapo.” Philippine Star, 16 Feb. 2010, www.philstar.com/metro/549686/cops-seize-deadly-weapons-sold-quiapo. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
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Robillos, Alyosha J. “Quiapo’s Sex Toys Overpass is Gone, But the Sellers Are Still Around.” Nolisoli, 29 Aug. 2017, nolisoli.ph/22644/quiapo-raon-overpass/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
Romero, Paolo. “Lawmaker Seeks to Regulate Proliferation of ex Toys.” Philippine Star, 03 May 2011, www.philstar.com/headlines/685193/lawmaker-seeks-regulate-proliferation-sex-toys. Accessed 02 Nov. 2017.
“Sex Toys Seized in Quiapo Raid.” GMA News Online, 27 Sep. 2012, www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/275791/sex-toys-seized-in-quiapo-raid/story/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
Silarde, Vincent. “Trip to Quiapo (Apologies to Ricky Lee).” Filipino Expat, 04 Jul. 2015, thefilipinoexpat.com/trip-to-quiapo-apologies-to-ricky-lee/. Accessed 02 Nov. 2017.
“Solon Wants to Prohibit the Use of Sex Toys and Gadgets.” Republic of the Philippines House of Representatives, 05 Jun. 2011. www.congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid=5153. Accessed 02 Nov. 2017.
Tiu, Jilson. “Pilikmata ng Kambing.” Nolisoli, 29 Aug. 2017, nolisoli.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/nolisoliph-raon-sex-toys-overpass.jpg. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.
_____. “Raon Sex Toys.” Nolisoli, 29 Aug. 2017, nolisoli.ph/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/nolisoliph-raon-sex-toys-overpass4.jpg. Accessed 30 Oct. 2017.