They're all over the place and unlikely to stop so why make a stance now? http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/2014/01/10/ktv-bar-remains-closed-appeal-denied/
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds? Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! [a croupier hands Renault a pile of money] Croupier: Your winnings, sir. Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much. [aloud] Captain Renault: Everybody out at once! (The bar could perhaps have been "done" for the more serious offence of permitting soliciting for purposes of prostitution to take place on their premises, so maybe they got off lightly.) I have been told, more than once, that striptease is indeed unlawful in the Philippines, but I have not found the legislation that says so (nor have I looked for it!) We shall no doubt soon learn that all the other "KTV-Disco" establishments in Cebu City have either either closed down or chosen to show only fully clothed dancers.... .. or, just maybe, they have remembered the importance of making regular and generous contributions to the local policemen's favourite charity... Incidentally, "way back when", in the 1980's, there was a bar in Ermita, (this was back when there were bars in Ermita!) where one of the dancers was a serving Police sergeant.. it most certainly was not a gay bar and I have her picture somewhere - not indeed in a state of wardrobe malfunction but not particularly "clothed" either. A very comely lass. Must see if I can find it.
Found it. Lady in question is in the left foreground... Out of interest I tapped "Bubbles Bar, Ermita" into Google and turned up this report, in the Inquirer, no less, of a very similar scenario from 1988: http://articles.philly.com/1988-06-19/news/26267965_1_raids-red-light-district-bar-girls It was Fred Lim, then head of the Manila Police, who was responsible for the raids; as we know, he later became Mayor of Manila and did indeed shut the bars down (they moved to Makati...) Mel Lopez, who was Mayor of Manila at the time of the article, just died. Wikipedia has not caught up with that news, yet, but here's the article on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Lopez Lopez was genuinely popular; he had a very solid background of resisting Marcos. He shut down the casinos, and refused to re-open the jai-alai stadium. He left the girlie bars alone, arguing that gambling was a much more serious social evil, but Fred |Lim had other ideas and I think we can see his raids on the girlie bars in 1988 as the start of his campaign for Mayor in 1992, which he won. As I recall saying at the time, Fred Lim had worked out that housewives vote.... I think Mel Lopez was right, but today we have casinos... The picture is from a flyer, handed out by the Bubbles Bar, which was one of the more prominent establishments of the day. The original Firehouse was probably the best known of the lot. In those days Ermita was known as the "Tourist District" of Manila - there was not much attempt to conceal what the tourists were in Manila for.
Whoa now... When I had a few hours alone in Cebu I chose the mall and starbucks (after buying a book).. And I could have GONE THERE!!!
I notice that this bar is located in the North Reclamation Area and not in Mango Avenue... that might account for its troubles? But I have only ever spent a few hours in Cebu (at a training centre that my Manila based employers were running at the time. Honest.)
As far as I have noticed they reside all over the city (though I can't vouch for how much karaoke they actually do), that's what made me question why pick on this particular one. Like you said, maybe they haven't paid their "bills".
There's a bar like that about 200 yards from the front gate of the highly popular huge and busy Baclaran church in Pasay, just goes to show I expect there were other bars even closer to the church, I can guarantee that the ladies are naked, we did go there some years ago, she was testing me To be honest I found the experience pretty dull, you pay over the odds for a beer and for the food, the music is not particularly good and you have an endless array of naked women dancing on a stage, after a while you could go to sleep, it's that bad. You are also constantly pestered by the management because you are the only foreigner in the place and in their mind must have more money than the local business men that clearly populate and keep the place going, it was not wildly busy but it was also not empty. It would be hard to not notice the hundred's of bars like this everywhere all over Manila and from the one time I visited Cebu it was clear it was pretty similar there too.
Joking aside, years ago when I was in Phucket I went into one of those places with two Irish blokes I got drunk with that evening (fellow travelers daring each other) and I think I was there for all of 20 minutes! It was all very interesting when there was a ping pong show, but when they started talking about razor blades I got out of there Plus, if I did head into some place like that. It'd have to be on my brother in laws stag party otherwise I might end up a eunuch...
