Manila to act on girlie bar ban

ONE of Asia's most popular red-light districts will cease to exist at the Lunar New Year, when Manila city hall begins to enforce a strict ban on girlie bars, police said.

The chief police commander under Manila Mayor Mr Alfredo Lim said yesterday that on January 21 the city would permanently close bars in the Ermita entertainment district which allow their female employees to sit beside customers.

''The establishments will have to be converted into pure restaurants,'' Major Carlos Baltazar, commander of the police detachment at Manila City Hall, said. ''Service personnel are not to sit next to the customers.'' Starting on January 21, Manila police will launch raids into the district against bars which tolerate excessive mingling between hostesses and customers.

In most Ermita bars, scantily-clad girls divide their time between dancing on stage and chatting with male customers. They can earn extra income from drinks and so-called bar fines - a charge that allows the customer to invite the girl outside.

In what could be a blow to tourism, the move coincides with Lunar New Year's celebrations, when throngs of male tourists from Hongkong and other Asian cities flock to Manila to patronise the Philippine capital's bars, known for cheap beer and sex.

About 20 years ago Ermita used to be an upscale shopping district but over the years deteriorated into an area crammed with run-down bars, sex shops and homeless families.

In a last-ditch effort to keep open their doors, a group of bar owners are challenging the city's right to regulate them in the courts, but city officials said they will press ahead with the policy.