The Philippine Commission on Women warned Filipinas against online “sugar daddy” pages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maki Pulido reported on “24 Oras” that PCW said women were signing up for these pages after losing their source income due to COVID-19. A sugar daddy page offers financial assistance in exchange for companionship.
According to Honey Castro, PCW affairs and information resource management division chief, many get attracted to sugar daddy pages’ offers.
“May mga pages looking for sugar daddy, P15,000 parang nakakaakit for people kaya na kailangan ng cash. Parang ads kumbaga,” she said.
Castro warned that joining these pages could lead to blackmail, abuse, or even prostitution.
“Baka lang nae-exploit na rin ‘yong vulnerabilities ng mga kababaihan na nangangailangan ng pera, lalo na ‘yong kabataan, ‘yong younger women natin. Kapag ganoon ang relationship na pinasok ng isang babae, nandito na ‘yong umpisa pa lang, mayroon ng imbalance kumbaga. Mas makapangyarihan siyempre ‘yong may pera,” she said.
PCW warns Filipinas against sugar daddy pages
In a statement sent to ABS-CBN News, the dating app said there “has been a 63% surge in signups from March to August of this year— rising incidentally along with COVID-19 cases that prompted quarantine restrictions.”
Sugarbook said that more Filipinos, 79% percent of them sugar babies, signed up on the niche website that prides in its purpose: “Where romance meets finance.”
It added that there are already 28,310 sugar babies (ages 18 to 34) in the country, 46% of whom were students. Other leading signups are from women in the entertainment industry (15%) and the hospitality industry (10%).