For those whose lives were touched by the first two series of INTERNET ROMANCE, I sympathize with their pain and anguish, as well as I also celebrate with others who learned their lessons well that being a Filipina is twinned with a responsibility for another Filipinas’ plight and wellbeing. My greatest gratitude to my readers, they have fueled my inspiration to write.

Never did I, even in my most sophisticated imagination expected that this piece of literary work would affect other peoples’ lives, which was done for a friend Dalisay, hoping that it will serve as catharsis and hasten the healing process of her depression.

I appreciate the emails that were sent to me narrating their own personal experiences in internet relationship. It varies from comic, heroic, sentimental, sad as well as happy endings. By and large at the end of the day, what strikes me was how readers would stand on their own verdict whether INTERNET ROMANCE is Love, Lust or Greed and would suggest another adjective to describe their internet tryst… is it also plain conceit?

Is it CONCEIT as one email suggested? Liwayway, not his real name is gay but is more attractive than most women. In fact he is always mistaken as a commercial model with his height, skin and poised bearing. His once upon a time baritone voice, after mastering his falsetto, is now husky and seductive. Hormone pills and dedication to project a female persona paved way, the envy of his kind.

In the Philippines homosexuality is accepted and tolerated. They have placed a mark in various fields, in media, in the academe, in movies, in business, in sports and even in politics. Cultural presentations and performing arts are dominated by their inexhaustible talents. They are a genre of their own. Yet, in spite of this social acceptance, they have remained the object of controversy, labeling and name calling.

Liwayway, narrated to me in detail how he had internet romantic relation with multi races. Americans, Europeans, Italians and Japanese men loved him because he was different. He doesn’t go all the way like most Filipina. He couldn’t possibly show off his private part to these men who were craving to see a female genital. The best that he could show is his full breast, achieved through the help of hormonal pills and creams. But this timidity thrilled these men. He was offered marriage more than he could remember but turned them down because he is still very young. The truth is, he is gay and those guys do not know it.

Even if these men eventually discover his sexual preference and may ascend to further their relationship in their own unique way, same sex marriage is not allowed in the Philippines , whose majority of its populace is Catholics. The Philippine Civil Code defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. There was never a mention of same sex marriage as valid, even in a permissible manner in any law or legal jurisprudence. Nothing is however impossible these days. They can they can go to the USA where same sex marriages are legalized in several states.

Liwayway for some time enjoyed the accolade and financial support from these men. His tuition fee was no longer delayed. Their dinning table was filled and their needs were answered like manna from heaven. However, to Liwayway’s dismay, his female friends wanted to have a taste of what he has accomplished. Bulaklak, not her name peered into Liwayway’s list of chat mates, initiated contact with these guys and successfully shifted their attention away from Liwayway.

Unlike Liwayway, Bulaklak was somehow innovative. She would send these guys video clips of her in suggestive silhouette images. She becomes an in demand commodity in the internet. As expected, monies for Liwayway flew towards Bulaklak through the country’s booming money transfer industry.

This intrusion was discovered by Liwayway. He confronted Bulaklak and plea for her not to interfere with her modus operandi as he needed the money so much for her schooling. Bulaklak threatened to reveal Liwayways gay identity to the men that he has deceived and used as “cash buffalo” for his family and studies. Liwayway was shattered. He was left with no choice but to tell these men the truth no matter what the consequences might be. How he would do it was the biggest challenge.

Liwayway asks Stefano, not his real name, if he indeed loves her (him) and is willing to live with her (him). Stefano said yes and is willing to marry her (him). He asks further if Stefano will still continue loving her (him) if he discovers her (his) real identity. The answer was always in the affirmative. Liwayway tearful but firm showed what he really was… For a moment time seemed to stop between them… Stefano didn’t even say goodbye.

Liwayway did the same with the other men whom he had been with in the internet world of virtual romance. Like Stefano they too didn’t say goodbye… However painful the truth might be, this has strengthened Liwayway’s conviction that someday he will find his man, someone who would take him for what he really is, a man trapped in a woman’s body. He browsed all the internet sites for gays and finally found one where he feels comfortable and at home. He gained some friends, equally gay with common genre. He learned his lessons well… Intelligent as he was good looking,  he will have his niche in life, not through internet sex but through whatever he has stored in his head.

Bulaklak continued with her internet sex activity with the guys she got from Liwayway. Like a trophy she flaunts how she bagged the whole gang of guys after the internet sex gay fiasco. She has triumph! Her school expenses are now assured and her family will have a better Christmas. Did she really win or are they both losers? Did the competition ended where Bulaklak took off? Not really…

In this INTERNET ROMANCE, there will always be no winners, just a bunch of losers! Men who refuse to grow and depend on virtual sex for their sexual inadequacies will never learn to appreciate the value of actual personal courtship. There will always be Ligayas, Diwatas who will torment other Filipina (1st and 2nd Series: INTERNET ROMANCE). There will always be a Bulaklak who will compete against another Filipinas’ interest, like the old song, “Three Coins in the Fountain” and the children’s story, “Snow-white and the Seven Dwarfs”… women, “psuedo-women” or gay, it will be an endless quest: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

The Philippines has a culture where women indulge in petty quarrel of who is the better woman. The media should be blamed for cultivating this kind of pass time. We see this in soap opera, prime time show, movies and in our own backyard gossip. In internet cafes, it is a familiar scene to see girls quarrel over a blue-eyed boyfriend, someone they have not even seen personally or smelled at all, but who looks so good and smell so sweet like the dollars they send. What a pathetic reality!!!

This romance between the Filipina and other men all over the planet is never doomed to stop. From being tagged as the Mail Order Bride Capital of the World and now the Internet Sex Capital of the Universe… we are becoming intergalactic. Technology has made internet virtual sex beyond imagination. Soon kids will have online sex with a Filipina for a couple of cents.

Just recently, an establishment was closed and “CALL CENTER” agents who were actually ‘PORN’ agents were apprehended. They violated the Law on Display of Indecent Materials. Charges will be filed against them. Since they were caught in “fraglante delicto” or in the commission of the crime, they will surely languish in jail.

I don’t know how I should terminate this saga. Dalisay has moved on and broaden her sphere of contacts in the world of entrepreneurship. God has been good to her. She might not have found the man in her life but her humanitarian aura has shown once more. Ligaya still continues to stalk Dalisay, in the same style she did, announcing her marriage to Kenneth, which Dalisay dismissed as plain conceit. Here’s a message for Ligaya and the psuedo-Kenneth, “Do not let the things that you want forget the things that you already have”.  Personally, I hope this old Confucian adage will put in finality their unsuccessful attempt to destroy Dalisay.

For Luningning, she has found a good paying job in Europe and Joseph still continues to contact her. Perhaps his tenacity and industry will pave way for a lasting romance and not a lustful one. As for Diwata, she has found peace in the prison cell where he attends weekly spiritual healing (1st and 2nd Series: INTERNET ROMANCE). Her husband is left to take care of her kids and has to work in a factory nearby. Many lessons are learned and unlearned in this episode, but the bottom line is, the main character has survived her trauma.

In my dedication to relate to you the confessions of the women I had befriended, I never expected to receive some offers to make this into a movie. It’s a lot of money! But, do I have the nerve to sell the shattering truth about Filipina Internet Sex? But, then again, even if I give this story for free or give the proceeds of the movie to organizations’ who share my advocacy against Filipina Pornography… does it make me less Filipina if I tell the world what we are, what we have become and what we hope to be? The truth is so shameful, dark and filthy but there is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how far it may be. What we need to do is accept, affirm and build within us an unconditional obligation to bind ourselves for our right as a Filipina, to be respected in this hostile world.

If perchance you might see a movie of the same semblance of plot and characters… remember, you read the story here first… the INTERNET ROMANCE saga never ends…

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Footnotes:
“Liwayway”-Pilipino(tagalog) female name that horizon.
“Bulaklak”-Pilipino(tagalog) female name that means flower.
“Stefano” – Italian masculine name.

Addendum:
Any similarities as to names, events and particularities are merely coincidental. This literary piece is a result of a compilation of data gathered from several Filipina’s experiences in their internet interaction with foreigners.