The odyssey of Gigolos in southern Philippines: Perks and drawbacks

88 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 RESEARCH PAPER RESEARCH PAPERRESEARCH PAPER RESEARCH PAPER OPEN ACCESS OPEN ACCESSOPEN ACCESS OPEN ACCESS The odyssey of Gigolos in southern Philippines: Perks and drawbacks Rheychold Jumuad Daymiel * Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines Key words: Prostitution, Gigolos, Perks, Drawbacks http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/26.1.88-106 Article published on January 05, 2025 Abstract The study delved into the life stories of gigolos in the twin cities of Southern Philippines. The study sought answers on the experiences of the informants as gigolos, the causes that drive the informants to engage in their job, and the impact of the informants' job to their lives. Transcendental phenomenological approach was used in the study. The study utilized ten (10) research informants who were known and identified as gigolos. It was conducted in the southern part of the Philippines specifically in the twin cities of Zamboanga del Norte. The researcher utilized interview guides in the conduct of individual personal in-depth interview. Thematic content analysis was used in the treatment of collected data. The researcher generated three (3) themes for the experiences of the informants as a gigolo, namely: Performance-Based Incentives, Gratuities, and Downfalls of Services. As to the causes that drive the informants to engage in their job, the latter formulated three (3) themes, namely: Money Dictates, Educational Pursuit, and Bounty Hunter. On the impact of the informants’ job to their lives, three themes were created: Shameful Defeat, Health Glitch, and Parental Restraint. It was recommended that the government must uplift the poverty rate of the people. Creation of organization tasked in monitoring and tracking down known gigolos. Penalized any forms of male prostitution including their clientele. Awareness campaign on the adverse effects of becoming a gigolo, how this affects them, their families, friends, studies, the community, and its health related risk. Lastly, family and communities acceptance on their reintegration in to the community. * Corresponding Author: Rheychold Jumuad Daym  rheychold_daym[email protected] International Journal of Biosciences | IJB | ISSN: 2220-6655 (Print) 2222-5234 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 88-106, 2025 89 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 Introduction One of the oldest occupations was prostitution, which was once seen as a sin. The customer and the prostitute must trade financial benefits and sexual pleasures in order to perform this profession. Although guys and transgender people make up a significant portion of prostitutes in many places, scholars have traditionally concentrated on female prostitution while ignoring male and transgender prostitution (Weitzer, 2011; Weitzer, 2005). Male prostitutes who serve clients are referred to as "gigolos." The male and female prostitutes were not very different from one another; sex trade transactions are typically carried out in secrecy and under the "shadow of the night." To conceal their status, gigolos often work as students. Resto-bars, KTV lounges, and other nightclubs where male street prostitutes frequently offer themselves to potential clients driving by are among the places where they openly conduct business. Call boys and escorts have social skills that enable them to relate to well-educated, upper-class clientele, and they may form emotional bonds with some of their frequent clients, according to Smith et al. (2009), as referenced by Weitzer (2011). As with all forms of prostitution, there are hazards and issues associated with male prostitution. The most harmful effects of these unethical behaviors were related to health, specifically the risk of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections (STIs, HIV, and AIDS). According to Baral et al. (2015), male gigolos, also known as male sex workers (MSWs), are more susceptible to contracting HIV on several levels. High numbers of sexual partners, extensive and intricate sexual networks, effective HIV transmission during unprotected anal contact, and intensified intersectional stigmas are all contributing factors. Furthermore, Baral et al. (2015) observed that, despite the global HIV epidemic being on the decline, there was increasing evidence of a persistent or increasing HIV burden among certain marginalized women. HIV acquisition and transmission among MSW were being amplified by a number of synergistic facilitators, including structural, behavioral, and biological factors. The stigma and criminalization of HIV, commercial sex, and same-sex behaviors raise MSWs' risk of infection and make it harder for them to get necessary services. Male prostitution posed health concerns, but it also carried legal and criminal dangers, physical abuse, rejection by friends and family, social shame, gay-bashing, economic risks due to unreliable revenues, and mental and emotional risks. It has been shown that adolescents and fugitives engaged in sex work are vulnerable. This type of behavior was prevalent in the town where the researcher hails from, and it moved the researcher to see these gigolos performing sexual favors for cash at such a young age. It piqued his curiosity to find out why they were engaging in these kinds of activities. Materials and mathods This study utilized the transcendental phenomenological approach developed by Edmund Husserl. Which introduced the 'life-world' experiences or 'lived experience' and claimed that mind aimed at objects and used the term 'intentionality' to define his claim (El-Sherif, 2017). This method was used to explore the lived experiences and challenges of the male gigolos in the different cities of Southern Philippines. This design was employed because the study used nonnumerical data to interpret and analyze people's experiences and actions. The goal of the study was to get the informants' perspectives and expressed views from the points of view of their own words, beliefs, and structures. An open-ended gathering of data and conversational communication were employed in this study through individual personal interviews with the informants. The study took place in the northern part of the Zamboanga peninsula, which was located in Region IX in the northwestern part of Mindanao. The Zamboanga peninsula was a long semicircular peninsula extending toward the southwestern part of 90 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 the Sulu Archipelago and Borneo. The location was comprised of a total land area of 1,690,403 hectares, with a total population of 3,629,783 which was comprised of 67 municipalities and five cities (Sarmiento, n.d.). The study focused on the province of Zamboanga del Norte, which has a total area of 7,301.00 square kilometers (2,818.93 sq mi) it occupies the northern Zamboanga Peninsula in western Mindanao. The Sulu Sea borders the province to the north and west, Misamis Occidental to the northeast, and Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay to the south. The location of the study was further delimited in the City of Dapitan and Dipolog, where the rampant proliferation of male prostitution and male gigolos are taking place. Thus, they were chosen as the informants who provided the best information regarding the study. Qualitative research needed only a smaller sample compared to the quantitative analysis; thus, in this research, the researcher lookedfor ten (10) research informants who were known and identified as male gigolos or male prostitute from the twin cities of Zamboanga del Norte. They underwent individual indepth interviews. Informants are known and identified male gigolos, and they were chosen and categorized based on the typology of work, health condition, factors influencing them to engage in such activities. The researcher utilized interview guides for the ten (10) informants inthe individual personal interview of selected male gigolos in Dapitan and Dipolog City. In the study, phenomenological interviews were used to determine reciprocity in data collection to describe the meaning of concept or phenomenon in male prostitution, experiences, challenges, and mechanisms related to their work. During in-depth interviews, interview guides containing open-ended questions were used by the researcher. The researcher asked questions while taking down notes to write down their responses. The dialogs were also audio taped, taped with the informants' permission, which was later transcribed by the researcher. The instrument was first validated by the panel to measure what the research study supposed to measure. The research instrument was made up of three parts. The first part concentrated on informants' experiences as male gigolos; the second part questions about the causes that drive the informants to engage in their jobs; the last part was about the impacts of the informants' job to their lives. The thematic code analysis was employed to inspect themes which were transpired during the analysis of interview responses to measure the frequency of issues and similarities between the informants' use of themes. The thematic code analysis of Braun and Clarke (2006) was employed in this research. This method has six (6) steps as follows: (1) familiarization of data allowing the researcher to actively engage in the data by first transcribing the conversations in the individual in-depth interview, and then followed by reading the transcript or listening to the recordings and ideas written down; (2) generating initial codes for features of data that appeared exciting and meaningful; (3) searching for themes, which was the start of the interpretive analysis of the collated codes which was relevant data that were extracted and sorted according to overarching themes and the researcher's idea should allude connection among codes, subthemes, and themes; (4) reviewing themes means that the researcher needed to question whether to merge, refine, isolate or delete thematic initials; (5) defining and naming themes involves refining and defining the themes and potential subthemes within the data, and ongoing analysis was required to enhance the identified themes further and provide theme names concisely and effectually; and (6) producing the report was the final output of the study in which the researcher transformed his / her presentation into an interpretable piece of writing through the used of vivid and convincing extracts relating to subjects, study questions, and literature. 91 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 Results and discussion This chapter presents the findings from the interview using a concise Husserlian– phenomenological approach with the seven (7) steps of Colaizzi's data analysis to provide an informative evaluation of the study. To explicitly connect the coverage of the study, each informant was allowed to speak the mother tongue to express their experiences verbally. For general readability and comprehension, these have been translated. Likewise, all the statements from the informants were selected from the transcribed interview. Out of each significant account extracted, formulated meanings were created and coded as it reflected a comprehensive description of the informant’s experience. The core concepts formulated that appeared to a specific category and representing particular structures were grouped into cluster themes. Lastly, cluster themes were then re-grouped to come up with the emergent themes. After the thorough and profound description of the formulated meanings using Colaizzi’s data analysis method as adapted by Abalos et al. (2016), fifteen (15) cluster themes were identified and re-grouped to form nine (9) emergent themes. They are the following: I. Experiences of the informants 1. Performance-based incentives 2. Gratuities 3. Downfalls of services II. Causes that drive the informants to engage in their job 1. Money Dictates 2. Educational Pursuit 3. Bounty Hunter III. Impact of the informants’ job to their lives 1. Shameful Defeat 2. Health Glitch 3. Parental Restraint The experiences of the informants as gigolo revealed underneath the presentations and explanations of emergent themes. I. Experiences of the informants as gigolo Exploring the experiences of the gigolos firsthand was a great journey. It was new to the informant, telling the things they been keeping in secrets. As the researcher go along and establish confidence in them, the latter have gained their interest and started narrating openly about their work. He then generated three (3) emergent themes that were focused on the experiences of the informants. The following themes are: 1. Performance-based incentives The first theme depicts the nature of their job. Working as a gigolo is not an easy job; they need to establish communication first with their clients. Most of the clients were from the referral of a friend. After establishing contacts, the client and the gigolo then agree on the price and the acts that they will do. Most likely, they will meet up somewhere secretive and away from the eyes of the public. Based on the accounts of Informant 3, he said that: Ana jud sir… Sa barkada-- gikan sa barkada..mga contact sa barkada.. nakajamming napod nimo.. nakasuod-suod.. ingon ato na dayun.. mu offer-offer nga ingon ana... Contact ra sa cellphone sir dayun muingon sila nga adtu sa ilang balay unya ingon aning orasaha..mga gabie na dapit.. mga kadlawon usahay sa mga pension house.. ingon ana sir (IDI3:SS1). (That’s it, Sir. From my friends or contacts of my friends. Getting together, making friends, just like that. Offering services. Communicating through cellphones, then they will invite you to visit their house at a certain time, night time, or at dawn in lodging houses. Just like that, Sir). In this type of job, the informant may have met different kinds of clients. Their identity will always be kept confidential. This is to protect not only the identity of the gigolo and the clients but also their reputation. Informant 1 clearly stated that: 92 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 Naa man poy..mga professional man pod ang uban mao nang sa layu, maabot mig layu didto namu kuanon. Naay mga kuan sir uy., mga politician, mga ingon ana naay kuan lang.. katong mga teacher naa juy mga ingon ana gyud, naay mga nurse ingon ana nga trabaho ba.. klasi-klasi lang sir uy. Kanang uban sir mga balu, mangkay, nga katong mga sekreto ra sir ba..pero naay mga trabaho, kasagaran naay uban pod ana naa sa gobyerno gatrabaho, naa poy uban nga pari-pariha rapod pero naa lang gyud silay kwarta, mga OFW ingon ana, dayun wala nay mga bana sir ba, ang uban bulag ang uban balu. Di paka ana… makatira naka (IDI1:SS3). (Some professionals wanted to do the act away from their place. There are also politicians, teachers, nurses and those different professions. Some are widowed, unmarried, those who are secretive, Sir. They have jobs, some even work in the government, and some are OFWs who have been separated or widowed). The job requires clientele sexual satisfaction for the gigolo to be compensated. The payment of the services given was based on the level of sexual satisfaction the client receives. There were also limitations set and parts that were not included in the services. Performance should be equal to the payment. Informant 1 said that: Mu serbisyo gyud me ana sir. Muromansa, mga lips to lips ingon ana naa poy mga parts nga wla napoy labot, depende man gud na sir mao nang ingon ana. Hatag ko 250, ahw! cge 250 walay labot hikap sa kuan.. akua. Mu ana man gud pod me, naa poy uban nga..basta sa bayot gyud sir kana gyud moy kuan kaayu nga… kanang.. muhatag sila palangnitan dosmil.. ang performance nimo ana kinahanglan kantidad pod ug dosmil kay malugi pod na sila syempre ikaw dosmil gud pod na, kwarta na gud na di paka musugot. Ah! Bahala na ni (IDI1:SS4). (We give services, Sir. From romance, kissing just like that, some parts are not included, depending on the amount given. I will give 250, okay, but you cannot touch some parts. For example, they will provide two thousand, and you will match that with a performance worthy of the money they give to be fair with them. So, who are you to deny that two thousand? Yes! Let’s do it). Every sexual act also comes with different prices. It comes with various actions, simple acts, complicated acts, and even comes in bundles or packages. Informant 3 specified that: Tagaan kag kwarta sir..kwarta ra gyud.. usahay 1500 ingon ana 1000.. depende sir ug unsa kanang… naa mani silay kuan-kuan nga all-out daw. all-out tanan na gyud daw.. dala na daw na unsa na luboton, dayun um-umon, dayun makighalok pod daw ka… Depende sa performance ug unsa kaayu inyong buhaton, maopoy ilang ihatag..ug halokhalok ra gamay ra kaayu (IDI3:SS2). (They will give you money, money only. Sometimes they give 1000 depending on your performance. If it’s all-out, it includes anal sex, blowjob, and kissing. The money they give depends on the performance you give). 2. Gratuities The second theme showed the positive experiences of the gigolo in doing the job. This experience gave happiness and satisfaction to the gigolo while doing his job. Informant 2 proudly stated that: Dako kaayug katabang sir uy..kanang pang allowance sa eskwelahan. daghan mga.. ug unsa imong mga panginahanglanon pamalitan man pod ka nila ug kanang mga beste nimo., t-shirt. dayun kanang motor gani naku karon sir, nabayad.. nakaapil gani sila ug bayad-bayad.. kaluoy sa Diyos naimpas ra gyud. bayaran rapod, dili rapod ingon nga kada bulan gyud, tagaan rapod ka usahay ba ug kuan kanang maapekhan na gyud kaayu ug way ibayad, tagaan rapod kag pambayad (IDI2:SS5). (It is really of great help. For my allowance in school, the things I needed, they will also provide you with clothes, 93 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 t-shirt. She even paid part of the monthly amortization of my motorcycle. Thank God it is fully paid now. She will pay for it but not consecutively, just for the time when it's badly needed). Aside from financial and material things received from the clients, the gigolo also received friendly advice and emotional support. Informant 3 stated that: Tagaan kog kuan sadinha sir cellphone sir..Matingala lage ang uyab nganong nakacellphone. Kanang..kung tambag-tambag bya pud sir naa bya pud kay madawat nga tambagtambag gekan nila maayu pud mutamabag mga inana sir.. Financial raman sir (IDI3:SS4). (They give me cellphone, Sir. My girlfriend wonder where it came from. They also give advice, and they are right on that matter. Mostly financial Sir). Moreover, in some instances comfort is given to the informant, and they were there whenever they need someone to talk to. In times of sadness and pain, a shoulder to lean on. Informant 4 emotionally reiterated that: Aww..ug kuan sir..kaning..murag..ako mag awayaway mis..akong..naa man gyud koy uyab nga batan on pareha nakog edad.. Usahay mag away mi sa akong uyab malipay rapud ko kay naa koy katawag laen nga makaistorya nako sya istoryahanay ming duha. O, makacomfort sa akoa..naa sya sa panahon nga kuan nga sakitan ko (IDI4:SS5). (It’s somewhat like were getting an argument. I really have a girlfriend of my age and sometimes when we argue with each other, I’m happy that I have another someone to talk to, the one that can comfort me whenever I’m in pain). It has also helped in upgrading the fashion style of the gigolos. The way they dressed-up, the fragrance they wore and choosing their fashion line. Informant 10 mentioned that: Nausob sir kay..sauna kay yagit man kaayu ko sauna kay wala man koy in ane nga mga sinina..dayun dili kaau ko kabalo ma—mamorma.. Maggisi-gisi man gale ta mueskwela gale ta ani..mga sapatos buslot pa..apike kayo..dako kaayu syag katabang nako..kaning trabahoa sir..kay..halos tanan nakong gamit..branded ang uban. Dayun naa pakay lami kayo nga bag nga suoton..lami kaayong sapatos..socks..dayun perfume..naa pay perfume! (IDI10:SS13). (My life have changed Sir, because before I dressed-up like trash, and I don’t know how to groom myself. I even go to school wearing shoes with holes on it, and worn-out shirts. This job really helps me a lot, because it affords me garments some even are branded. You will have a nice wear, good shoes and socks, and perfume). 3. Downfalls of services This theme delved into the negative experiences of the gigolos that have caused them stress, unhappiness, and dissatisfaction with their job. Mutual agreement before doing the job is a must in order to establish the amount of money to be received and the type of sexual activities the gigolo needed to do. Informant 1 thoughtfully stated that: Kanang kuan sir..na man guy usahay nga dili magsabot daan sa presyo ba. Dayun to mahitabo na, magromansaanay na..ingon ana syempre ingon ana man gyud na sila. Kay bayot gud muromansa gyud na silag laki then ikaw pod nga laki balos nalang pod ka kay bayran man ka. Dayun pagkahuman sir di na magkasinabot sa presyo ba, kanang ingon ana kay..buang ka..! humana ko nimu dayun dili ka muhatag ug kuan. Naa man poy mga bayot nga ingon ana sir, syempre kami nga mga laki dili pod me gusto nga magansi pod me sa among performance (IDI1:SS8). (Sometimes Sir we cannot deal with the price. And then we do it, we do romance, they are like that. They are gays that’s why they wanted to do romance with a man, and since you are a man you do it also in exchange of money. Then after that you cannot agree 94 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 on the price, just like that “You bullshit! After we had sex you will not give on what we agreed on.” There are also gays like that, and since we are men we cannot allow an unjust match to our performance). Doing this job is indeed a struggle on the part of the gigolo. However, indeed these negative experiences happen sometimes. Moving on and just laughing on what had happened is their way of saying that “there were always ups and downs, being tricked is one of it.” Informant 7 added that: Ako na tablahan ko kadaghan na kadaghan na usa ka buthanan tag 100 pa to 100 muna muna pato 17 di jud nako makalimtan yati gitablahan ko.. Pero gipainom ko niya tanduay duha ka senior pisti natingla man kong sigig inom hala gigamit ko niya bali niyang ugom chinupa sa akoa.. Matay tingala man ko giingnaman man kog mangihi sa ko dayon wala na hing balik (IDI7:SS12). (Yes, for how many times I was not paid, 1 hundred for one load I’m just 17 years old at that time. I really can’t forget that experience. But he provided me a drink, that’s Tanduay 2 senior bottles, he did use me and do blowjob in me. I was surprised that he ask permission to urinate but did not come back to pay). There were also instances that the clients paid only partial payment and the remaining payment to be paid on the next time they see each other. Informant 9 regretfully elaborated that: Wala pod ko ka experience ana pero naka experience naku anang kulang iyang hatag..utang.. Giutang ang gamay ang kulang sunod na kita kay ikuan daw niya..ehh..daghang pasumangil sir.. daot kaayu sugot nalang pod ko kay gasolina lage daw (IDI9:SS8). (I did not experience not being paid, what I experience is that the payment is lacking. The remaining balance will be paid next time we meet again. He got many alibis, that’s why I accepted it because according to him the remaining money is only for gasoline). Gigolos work solely to earn money, but sometimes they experienced unjust treatment from their clients. They even experienced to be paid with just iced water, liquor, and cigarettes. Informant 10, while smiling, stated that: Hah!..kana!..hah..tablahan ko ana sir..tulo tu kabuok bayot sir..atong ice water ug sigarilyo ray gihatag..gi..agi man gu anag..kuan gud way panigarilyo pud..ah gitagaan kog sigarilyo sir. Dayun uban atong kuan gyud gitablahan jud ko..igo ra gipainom sir dayun gigamit na dayun ko sir (IDI10:SS14). (I have already experienced being unpaid for my services Sir. There were three gays at that time Sir and they just only paid me with an iced water and cigarettes. Others have only given me liquor in exchange of my services). Unpaid services inevitably caused unhappiness since the job involves financial gain. However, aside from this, harassment and unpaid services cause more stress and unsatisfied feelings. Informant 10 tearfully shared that: Dayun katong dakog lawas sir katung nitabla nako sir..nah!. Paghuman nakog ana sa akoa sir..ingon ramag kalit nga..oh dayun? Kay humana naman ta wala man koy kwarta magsinumbagay nalang ta ani ron..nah! Wala nalang pud ko nikuan sir..wala nalang ko nikuan kay dakog kaayug lawas sir uy..dako kaayu sir (IDI10:SS15). (And there’s this one muscular guy who did not pay me for my services. After having sex with me, he just said “And now that we’re done and I don’t have money to pay we will just settle it with a fight?” I really don’t have a choice because he is so big and muscular, so, I didn’t do something about it). II. Causes that drive the Informants to engage in their job Every action has its very reason, and this part discusses the causes of why people engage and 95 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 continue engaging in becoming a gigolo. Many factors need to consider in explaining why people do such jobs. These three (3) themes explain the reasons why people engage and choose to continue the job. 1. Money dictates Money is the very reason why people become a gigolo. This theme explains the contribution of money in influencing the will of every gigolo in doing the job. Informant 1 emphasized the importance of money why he does the job, and he stated that: Number 1 jud sir kanang kwarta gyud. Kwarta gyud sir. Para..naa gyud kay mabunot ba. Naay kwarta gyud mabutang sa bulsa. Ah! Murag lisod sir. Dli. Wala. Kay ang kana gud amuang mu kuan me ana, mamayot me pangwarta raman gyud among gihunahuna (IDI1:SS13). (Number 1 Sir is money. Money Sir, so that I have something to use. I have money on my pocket. It is difficult Sir. Because we engage into becoming a gigolo just for the money). Informant 4 also supported the statement of Informant 1 about the influence of money in doing the job most notably that the informant still studying, he said that: Kwar..kwarta pero pirmiro jud sir kana gyung kuan pinansyal gyud kwarta gyud labi na kay gaskwela ko karon sa allowance. Allowance nako unsa kayo akong ganahan diha..pali-palit kay igo-igo ragyud pud akong allowance nga gihatag sa akong pamilya dayun kuan pud kanang ipadayon nako ni sya kay ganahan man gyud ko sa iyaha gyud mao nang.. Ohhh..mao nang na develop nako niya gamay..pero naa man gyud koy uyab gyud (IDI4:SS10). (Money, but it all started from financial reason Sir, most notably that I’m still studying for my allowance. For my allowance, for me to buy what I want to buy because the allowance that my family is giving just enough for my basic needs. That’s why I’m still doing this, and I’m now attracted to her. Yes, I’m a little bit attracted to her, but again, I have a girlfriend). Becoming a gigolo is also the most natural way of earning money. Aside from working hard under pressure and the heat of the sun, being a gigolo requires only minimal use of strength and but comes with more compensation. Informant 6 specified and stated that: Ahhh, mas dali ang kwarta sir, yes sir, kaysa sa sa,kining, trabaho tag ug sa binulan, sa mga sweldo sa part-rime, gagmay ramn, ay kining tag 200 ang adlaw ramn barato.. Maypay kining mamayot ka kay usa kalibong gabii, yes sir hmnn, lami pa sa feeling, kaysa mag, kaysa mag took kag imoa. Hhmn hmmn (IDI6:SS11). (This is an easy money Sir compared to other jobs whose payment is monthly, part-time jobs are less paid at about 200 per day, and it’s very cheap. I’d instead engage in becoming a gigolo because you’re going to earn one thousand a night. Yes Sir, and I enjoy than masturbating). Moreover, money sometimes dictates the gigolos do things beyond their limitations. What is important is money. Informant 7 elaborated his experiences and expressed that: Lahi napod…Lahi ni sya nga bayot napod…Sos karon kay na…na encounter naman ko na lahi sya kay ang iyaha…na bangag sa akong lubot romansaon na tilapan na niya dayon iya ra kong mag lolo rako sya moy mu romance nako.. So murag kog gingilohan karon makig lips to lips sya nako so mura kog gingilohan karon makig lips to lips sya nako karon kay dili man ko kay kaning hugaw lage kayo pud kay lubot pud nako iyang gitilapan matay karon kay iya mang gikuan mudugang sya og dos mil kay kwarta kwartaan man pud sya so hing hatag sya napugos jud ko isig romansaay mi… Dili sa naa koy ika ulaw hing chupa pud ko duha jud mi romance jud ming duha…pulihanay balintuhanay pero wala nako lubuta niya (IDI7:SS3). 96 Daymiel Int. J. Biosci. 202 5 (It’s the other gay, this gay is different from others that I’ve encountered. He licks and does erotic acts on my butt hole, I’ll masturbate, and he’ll do the romance. So, I really feel disgusted about it, and now he wanted to do kissing lips to lips; I refuse to do it, of course, that’s dirty. And now he offers an additional 2 thousand for that erotic act, and then I’m pushed in doing it. I cannot deny or neither be shy to tell this, Sir, but I also do blowjob on him and do erotic acts also, but he decided not to do anal sex in me). Apart from it, friends can also influence a person to engage in becoming a gigolo. Most especially when the people their calling friends are already a gigolo. However, then again, it will similarly fall into the reason for earning money and satisfying vices. Informant 10 on his account specified that: Ag katong na..nag edad kog 16..kuyog-kuyog kos akong barkada..inom-inom mi..agi rapud atong..lage daw..kay so bata pa kay hangol man gud ug inom pa sir..asay jam tua. Dayun akong mga barkada mga mamayotay man sir…maotu sir..ila kong gituklod kay ingon daw sila sir lami man daw ng kuan sir..lami man daw sir (IDI10:SS10). (At the time that my age was just 16 years old, I always go along with my friends, get drunk, and I’m always present at every party. My friends are also gigolos; that is why they influenced me to become a gigolo because it gives pleasure). Gigolos even do the job to earn money to please their women. Gigolos are men and that cannot be denied that men are always attracted to women. Informant 1 further stated that: Ahw! Kanang kuan sir..kanang naang mamayot me dayun para igasto pod sa babaye ba., para ibali pod didto. Oh, mamayot me daan dayun murag..ang kwarta sa bayot nga gikan namu mao pod toy igasto namu sa pagpamaye pod. Kay mas masatisfied man gyud me ug baye among magamit, mao nang mamayot me daan desir me mamaye, para naay igasto sa baye bah (IDI1:SS10). (We engage into becoming a gigolo to provide for our women. Yes, we commit to becoming a gigolo for what we earn from the gays that will be provided to our women. It’s because we are more satisfied when we have sex with women, that’s why we go first to the gays before going to our women so that we can provide for them). 2. Educational pursuit This theme also looked into the brighter side of why people chose to become a gigolo. Almost all of the informants are students, and earning money to fund their education is one of the main reasons why people engage in becoming gigolos. Informant 1 reiterated that: Ang number 1 gyud sir kanang mga project sa eskwelahan mao nang gipursigi gyud me nga musulod nalang gyud ana. Sa.., para sa tarong man pod nga pamaagi namu gigamit sir. Oh sir. Mga project, mga allowance diha na namu na gikuha (IDI1:SS6). (The number 1 reason Sir are school projects; that’s why we engage in those activities. We do that for a good cause. Yes, Sir. Projects, allowances came from that). Their will to finish their studies motivated them to continue the job despite the danger it delivers. The money they earn from their work as a gigolo was used to fund school requirements, projects, and other expenses for school. 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