Sir, I refer to the national radio advertisements carried over the past week concerning your feature on the Philippines. In these, your reporter stated that there is no other tourism in the Philippines, only Sex Tourism.
I have visited that country and I can say that this claim is manifestly inaccurate. It is certainly not the motivation of even the majority of visitors who basically go to enjoy a beautiful country friendly people and a lovely climate. Is it necessary for a respectable newspaper to employ such sensationalism to boost your circulation? Especially so when those who are the object of it are unlikely to be in a position to repudiate it or to defend themselves.
It is true that child prostitution is a significant social problem in the Philippines. To put the situation in context, there is a parallel which most Irish people who have travelled abroad in the past will identify with that is, explaining to a foreigner that there is a significant problem in Northern Ireland, but the vast majority of the population of the island do not live in fear or go around killing each other. Your advertising promotes exactly this type of poor understanding of the situation. Yours, etc., Ballyalla, Ennis,
Co Clare.