the Bong show in Olongapo
Olongapo City is a smelly, dirty, garbage-strewn, humid, polluted city of 227,000 people in 43,000 homes in Zambales Province. The name Olongapo is derived from the Tagalog phrase “Ulo ng Apo,” which came from “olo nin apo,” meaning “head of the elder.”
James Bong and family members before him have ruled Olongapo City for decades. I saw photos of “Bong” on banners everywhere that we went on foot and by jeepney in Olongapo. Guess who has paid for all the banners. Maybe the taxpayers …
Dominic and I traveled by bus to Olongapo from Iba on the advice of a friend. The strip, along the beach, loaded with small resorts, a hundred bars, convenience stores and homes, made me think ‘whore town.’ Apparently Olongapo has a storied past as ‘Sin City’ to which thousands of U.S. Navy sailors and civilian cargo ship crewmen have gone for decades. It has had more than 13,000 prostitutes at a time. I wouldn’t have expected that the Philippines would have 13,000 whores in the whole nation.
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Not much expense or expanse for signage
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Everywhere I turn I can see a picture of Mayor ‘Bong’ Gordon and/or his name. It’s so laughable.
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Read of Olongapo at AsiaTour.com
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Mayor James ‘Bong’ Gordon is descended from a U.S. sailor. His brother, Senator Richard “Dick” Juico Gordon, was mayor before him. Their father and mother had also been mayors of Olongapo. Richard Gordon’s wife Catherine, “Kate,” succeeded him as mayor when he went to Congress, where his brother James (“Bong”) had preceded him.
Many of the extended family, including Richard’s wife and Bong’s wife, Anne, have plum jobs in government and in business in and near Olongapo. The Gordon family has reigned in the city for decades while facing legal charges amid allegations of graft and corruption.
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Read of Olongapo at Wikipedia.com
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Mayor ‘Bong’ Gordon has coopted Olongapo City’s website for his narcissistic self-aggrandizement
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Read a TravelPod weblog entry describing Olongapo
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Read Charles Paige’s memories of Olongapo – and Baguio City
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Olongapo City: A Legacy of PROSTITUTION
Read a Wikipedia article about human trafficking, sex tourism and more in the Philippines
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Sin City does have a Catholic church and other churches
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Bong recorded an album – Get yours today in 7-Eleven!
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See Preda Foundation’s website
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Read how Olongapo turned a blind eye to child prostitution
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Maybe he spelled ‘Bong’ in the sand, but the waves erased it. ‘Bong’ or ‘Gordon’ must be seen every quarter-mile in Olongapo. One district that I passed through was named Gordon Heights.
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Read in Wikipedia: Human Trafficking in the Philippines
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“You say goodbye, I say Bonggo…”
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I’d take my electronics there.
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Read of sex tourism in Angeles City and elsewhere.
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Wow. That’s quite a beautification project.
Read a 2006 article about sex tourism
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I love the “USA” socks with clogs.