Some sugar babies in the Philippines complained of being scammed by their “sugar daddies” in the online luxury dating website “Sugarbook.”
Manal Sugadol interviewed some of these sugar babies on “Stand For Truth.”
Maricel, Gretchen, and Aileen said they signed up for “sugar dating” (a relationship between a wealthy older person and a younger partner in need of financial support) because of financial problems amid the pandemic.
“Nag-offer siya ng P35,000, isang buwan ko raw po ‘yun. Tapos may pinakita po siya sa’kin na mga video rin ng iba’t ibang babae na ‘yun daw po ‘yung gagayahin ko pero habang tumatagal, hindi ko na po nagugustuhan ‘yung mga pinapagawa niya,” Maricel said.
(He offered P35,000 a month. He then showed me videos of women that I should imitate, but as time goes by, I started not to like what he wanted me to do.)
“‘Pag hindi raw po ako nag-send ng isa pang nudes, ikakalat niya raw po ‘yung mga pinadala ko sa kanya,” she added.
(He said that if I will not send another nude, he spread those I previously sent.)
Maricel also said that her sugar daddy never fulfilled his promise of giving her money.
“Wala po siyang naibigay sa’kin ni isang piso. Sobrang natakot po ako. Halos hanggang ngayon po hindi pa rin ako makatulog kasi lagi ko pa po ‘yung naiisip,” she lamented.
(He did not give me a single peso. I was so scared. Until now, I still can’t sleep because I always think about it.)
A man she met on a Facebook community named after Sugarbook also scammed Gretchen.
“‘Yun ‘yung pinagsisihan ko na nagpasa ako ng picture na kabastusan, ‘yung kahit ayaw ko ‘yun ibigay, binigay ko ‘yun kasi akala ko totoo tapos hindi naman pala totoo kaya nagsisisi ako parang gusto ko na rin magpakamatay,” she said.
(That’s what I regret that I sent a lewd picture, that even though I didn’t want to give it, I gave it because I thought it was true and then it wasn’t true, so I regret it like I want to commit suicide.)
Sugar babies complain of being scammed by sugar daddies
Aileen, meanwhile, said she became a sugar baby to support her children.
“Siyempre nakakalungkot, na nakakadismaya na nakakaawa kasi kaya ko siya pinasok kasi para sa mga anak ko, pangkain, tapos lolokohin ka lang din naman ng kapwa mo Pilipino na wala rin namang matinong sasabihin,” she said.
(Of course, it’s sad, it’s frustrating and pathetic because I was able to let him in because it was for my children, food, and then your fellow Filipinos will fool you too without saying anything sensible.)
Sugarbook founder and CEO Darren Chan clarified that they have no control over community pages using the dating site’s name.
“The Facebook community pages is created by fans… The fans of Sugarbook made us admins. The community pages are not official and not owned by Sugarbook itself although myself, I am an admin in one of the pages,” he said.
He also insisted that Sugarbook does not advocate prostitution.
“Sugar babies are not obligated to have sex. Sugar babies, they are not selling their babies. Sugar babies have the freedom of choice to choose who they want to be in a relationship with,” he argued.