Twenty-three dancers and other nightclub workers were arrested in a "lightning raid" on a gay bar that was allegedly presenting lewd shows, The Sun Star reports.

Although Baguio police did not witness the allegedly lewd shows, it was discovered that all the bar's employees were performing their jobs without the necessary work permits. However, the manager of the bar claimed their work permits were being processed.

"The raid was executed on the gay bar because of intelligence reports that indecent shows were allegedly being staged there and that they also cater not only to homosexuals and matron habitues but also to female college students and young professionals," said Eugene Melendez, an intelligence officer for the police.

The employees were released after signing a "promise to appear notice."

Occurances like this are not uncommon in Manila. It is true that there are bars that stage lewd shows or what we call "live shows" as entertainment for certain kinds of crowds. It was stated that the police were not able to time the raid during any of the lewd shows - but arrested the dancers anyway later to use their employment status (no work permit) as an excuse to temporarily detain them and release them after they signed a "promise to appear notice."

Generally, lewd bar shows are illegal in Manila, any bar can be raided or shut down for staging "live sex shows" or even selling prostitution in the guise of friendly bar staff and entertainers called "GRO's" (Guest Relations Officers). But without proof or evidence, the bar cannot be shut down or categorized as a sex joint.

They say that these bars are most often not shut down after the raids because they actually pay their way out of the slammer. No one knows what makes certain bars like this thrive and survive for long periods of time but one thing's for sure, they exist.

In some areas of Manila, it is rumoured that some bars cater only to homosexual men, some to a mixed crowd (like the one mentioned above) and some more exclusively for the ladies (matrons and other women who fancy watching naked men dance).

Still there are some bars that just feature sexy dancers that strip onstage but claim that they do not engage in prostitution, they say that they are only "show dancers," nothing more.

As far as I know, there is no nationwide law that prohibits gay bars although some cities have banned gay bars and do not allow such establishments to operate in their vicinities. The reason for this is that some gay bars are said to attract prostitution and prostitution is illegal in the Philippines.

We do not know if such failed raids are probed by homophobic groups but we acknowledge that bar raids cause damage to patrons and bar employees. When the raid cannot be justified, they always find other reasons to arrest and detain persons who are allegedly involved just to save face.

The Philippines is one of the most gay tolerant countries in Asia, but generally, homosexuality is still not fully accepted in the Catholic dominant society.