Priest Claims Irish Bars in Philippines
May be Used for Sordid Sex Trade
Published in the Irish Examiner
April 20, 2001
Dubliners Fr. Shay Cullen, a Columban priest working in the Philippines for 30 years, said most bars on the tourist islands were frequented by people offering the services of women prostitutes, and some used this business as a cover for supplying children. A number of Irish-themed bars were not Irish-owned - and Irish, Irish-American and other visitors expecting to find traditional craic in some of them may get more than they bargained for.
For Cullen said he was disappointed at the low level of interest displayed by the Government in his work and in making Irish travelers aware of the kind of activities they might be unwittingly supporting.
He also urged the Government to support his campaign to activate a 1998 United Nations declaration on defending the defenders of human rights.
Fr. Cullen has faced repeated threats to his life over his three decades in the Philippines, and has had to fight off 53 bogus or harassment charges, ranging from libel to rape. He still has eight such charges hanging over him, but says he is confident they will be dismissed or dropped.
"We have an international campaign going in Geneva with a lot of people writing to Mary Robinson to activate the UN declaration and fight this kind of harassment.
"The Irish Government has clout with the UN. They can, if they want, make an issue of this."
Fr. Cullen flies to Italy today to receive a human rights award there next
week and will then make a short visit home to Dublin.
He then returns to his base in Olongapo City, where he runs the PREDA
Foundation, which rescues women and children from the sex industry.
He was nominated for the 100th Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced in October, by British MP for Edinburgh Nigel Griffiths, who successfully lobbied in the mid-90s for legislation to make offences against children abroad applicable in Britain.
Mr. Griffiths said Fr. Cullen's work had been a deciding factor on forcing a then reluctant government to pass the legislation.
"It was his eye-witness account that convinced us that it was a severe problem and helped us make that case to government.
"I am convinced the legislation is a major deterrent, especially to the sex tourism industry in Thailand, which was a big destination for British paedophiles."
Mr. Griffiths said Fr. Cullen fully deserved the award, but he believed the nomination alone would not help bolster his still vulnerable position.
"I have no doubt that without the interest of the world press, his detractors would have eliminated him by now. He is of the bravest people I have ever met.
"Hopefully, the nomination will help going and give him a little more insulation from reactionary forces."
By Caroline O'Doherty
