Some 2,000 Filipino women enlist with mail-order bride agencies annually

By Rufi Vigilar

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- Electronic technology has taken the shady business of so-called mail order brides a step further.

In the Philippines, it has allowed the business to play dodge with a law that bans the matching of Filipino women with foreigners for commercial gain.

Two Florida-based firms, World Class Service and Davis Place International Internet Services, run three websites with pictures and profiles of women in the Philippines, many still in their teens, who seem unmindful of the dangers of meeting and possibly marrying the stranger of their dreams.

Just pay from $2 to $75 by cash, check, money order, or credit card to access the addresses and other contact details of hundreds of them advertising their availability as pen pals and potential brides.

"These websites are making money and could be fronts for prostitution, slavery, and sexual abuse," Senator Loren Legarda-Leviste told CNN.

Legarda is urging the government to "invoke moral grounds and make strong representation with the U.S. government" to investigate and possibly shut down the Florida firms.

Website claims

CNN.com Asia

World Class Service's matter-of-factly offers "catalogs of available girls" under the heading "Selecting Your New Bride."

The website disparages Philippine lawmakers as "assholes" who "specifically fight to avoid globalization and erect barriers on cultures and values."

On the other hand, a certain Delaney Davis calls an "introduction service" that evolved from his "love story" with a Filipina woman named Josie Ponio.

Delaney says the website began shortly after he came to the Philippines in January 1999 to meet Josie, whom he married in her hometown a year later.

The website started as a tribute to Josie, said Delaney, and later turned into an online business when the photo album of their courtship posted on the internet drew numerous letters from men asking how they might run into the same lucky fate.

"The term mail order bride is much abused," said Delaney, who together with Josie run another commercial website

Not so poor

Senator Legarda told CNN her staff had been receiving complaints from "victims apparently" who pointed them to the three websites.

Poverty and a lack of education generally lead some 2,000 Filipino women to enlist with mail-order bride agencies annually, according to a non-governmental group, the Women's Legal Bureau.

But Legarda notes that many of the women who advertise online are apparently "not necessarily very poor."

Some of the women's online profiles state they are college graduates. One even claims to be an office manager, while another says she's a teacher.

But Legarda is adamant: "Whether voluntary or not, the law says it's illicit."

Hurdles

The Philippines enacted a law in 1990 that bans and punishes the commercial matching of Filipinas with foreigners for marriage, after dozens of Filipinas were reported to have ended up as battered wives and forced domestic laborers.

"The law is flawed because of the failure to designate a specific agency that would monitor and ensure enforcement," said Legarda, who is proposing to amend the law.

Nor does the law cover internet commerce, although it provides that "other similar services" can be held liable.

Legal hurdles and red tape are likely to hamper any action against the Florida firms.

"We comply with all laws of the Government of the Philippines, including international copyright law, and registration and copyright laws of the United States of America," according to a disclaimer on

Legarda also noted: "We cannot prosecute them here for lack of territorial jurisdiction."

"But the National Bureau of Investigation can at least act so that any local partners can be exposed," she added.

"Government action could be slow, but there's no choice but to do something," Legarda said.