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SCMP Reporter

LINDI has no idea where she will find the pesos to see her through the next month. Less than one year ago, she was leading a humble existence in the sleepy province of Masbate - an island known more for its guns than its girls.

    Glowing stories of easy money in Manila drew her to the overcrowded Philippines capital, and the 27-year-old quickly discovered a modest income could be made from dancing and coaxing customers into buying her drinks at the Ermita bar Superstar.

    But her career as an entertainment girl came to an abrupt halt last month, after Manila mayor Alfredo Lim shut Superstar down for good.

   Lindi suddenly lost her only source of income, and must borrow to pay the 25 peso-a-day (HK$8) rent at an overcrowded, decrepit boarding house.

  Lindi's story is not unique. Hers is the human side of a high-profile campaign by Mr Lim to rid Manila of its notorious fun houses, which has so far resulted in the closing of 79 bars, massage parlours and short-time houses.

    Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other Filipinas like Lindi are in dire straits after Mr Lim began slapping padlocks on the doors of the seedy bars, most of which are owned by foreigners.

     Having given up on Ermita returning to normal, Lindi and her friends roam the other municipalities in the Metro Manila area searching for a safe district in which to make money.

   Because of nightly raids, the city of Manila - which includes Ermita - is out of bounds except for those dancers who are prepared to take the risk of being arrested.

  Other less attractive options exist in neighbouring districts like Pasay City, Makati and Quezon City.

    In Ermita - a disgusting district overrun by homeless families, beggars, petty criminals, street vendors and prostitutes - only a handful of bars remain partially open after Mr Lim's raids, which have spanned several weeks.

    The once-immensely popular Firehouse bar tried to circumvent Mr Lim's crackdown by replacing a stage that once used to groan under the weight of scantily-clad girls, with a Filipino band.

   But Lim's men moved in anyway, nailing wooden planks over the door, ostensibly because customers were ''bar-fining'' - or paying a 500 peso fee to take a Firehouse girl out of the bar.

    Several pages of court documents pasted outside the New Bangkok bar reveal why its European owner has been able to defy Mr Lim's closure orders.

   The Manila Regional Trial Court ruled that City Hall erred in trying to close down the establishment and issued a restraining order.

  ''It is very clear that no municipal corporation can prohibit the operation of night clubs and similar establishments,'' the court ruled. ''Municipal corporations can only regulate, they cannot prohibit.''     Despite all the publicity surrounding the bar closings and weeks of heavy-handed raids, enforcement of the fun-house ban appears to be patchy.

   Even though all massage parlours have been ordered closed, the Flamingo massage parlour, owned and operated by the second wife of the late Tony, Lord Moynihan, Editha Ruben, continues to operate - with occasional patronage by plainclothes policemen fromthe National Bureau of Investigation.

  Ironically, its upscale sister, the New Dawn of Life, owned by Lord Moynihan's third Filipino wife, Jinna Sabiaga, has been shut.

  ''We can't have police there around the clock, they need rest too,'' said Rafaelito Garayblas, secretary to the mayor and head of the City Hall task force co-ordinating the clean-up campaign.

    Manila judges are not the only ones who question the approach of Mr Lim, who is of Chinese descent and was voted into office with heavy backing from the Chinese community.

   Critics said that while Mr Lim has almost completely wiped out the flesh trade in Ermita, equally-seedy bars in Chinatown go untouched.

   Beyond a dubious offer of street-cleaning jobs, Mr Lim has demolished Ermita without finding alternative sources of livelihood for thousands of displaced workers.

  Mr Garayblas has little sympathy for the unemployed bar girls, saying they were all offered decent jobs when the raids were launched.

  ''We offered to get them hired as sales ladies where they could make at least 3,800 pesos a month. But they just laughed it off saying that was what they could make in one night in Ermita.''     Mr Garayblas also rejected allegations the raids have been limited to Ermita. ''All the sauna parlours in Chinatown have been closed down,'' he said.

    If Mr Lim has his way, Ermita will undergo a miraculous transformation into a showcase tourist district, complete with flower shops, curio and handicraft shops and upscale restaurants. The Department of Tourism is helping to draw up the rehabilitation plans for the area.

    Separately, Manila City Council is in the final stages of passing a tough ordinance permanently banning nightclubs from the area.

    Surveying the depressing scene in the wake of the raids, it is hard to image the main drag of M. H. del Pilar being transformed into anything respectable. The roads and lanes are badly potholed, and few places in Manila sport as many rats and cockroaches, and such a degree of human misery.

    It has only been a few weeks since Mr Lim and his men began chasing customers and girls out of Ermita and already some bar owners have conceded to the tough-talking mayor.

   ''That's it for Superstar,'' said Sharmaine, a barmaid at this, one of Ermita's larger bars, as she stuffed liquor into boxes.

    Across the street, Visions, another popular venue, is being converted into retail space. And down the street, Blue Hawaii is no more after its owners sold it to neighbouring Rosie's Diner.

    Many of the girls displaced by the closure of Ermita can be found in Makati, where a more liberal mayor tolerates the fun-houses - albeit of a more upscale appearance than Ermita's bars. Others have found temporary refuge in bars in nearby Quezon City and in the former US base town of Angeles City.

    Manila city officials are reportedly furious at the lax attitude mayors in neighbouring municipalities have towards allowing fun-houses to function, but say there is little they can do.

   ''They should co-operate if they are interested in cleaning up the country,'' said Mr Garayblas. ''We already have a bad image abroad. I've heard that some foreigners equate Ermita as the Philippines.''     As for Ermita bar owners who continue to defy Mr Lim, there is pressure building to have them thrown out of the country. A Philippines congressman made a highly-publicised speech last week in which he linked several foreign bar owners to unscrupulous syndicates.

   He is asking the Immigration Department to issue deportation orders against them, in the name of ''saving our young innocent women.''     Meanwhile, officials have pledged that the raids in Ermita and other districts in Manila will continue.

  ''As long as we are in office we will continue doing this. We will not stop until Ermita is turned into a ghost town,'' Mr Garayblas said.



They shut the fun houses but forgot all about the girls