1. The trade 
2. The operator 
3. 'Baby Love' 
4. She's not alone 
5. Nothing changes 
6. Objects of affection

Objects of affection 

 The streets of Angeles City and Olongapo are filled with mixed couples: white-skinned men who tower over diminutive, Filipina women. 

 The couples are sometimes brazen about showing their affection, putting hands all over one another in restaurants or even having sex in public view. 

 A swimming pool at the Marmont Resort hotel sees a steady stream of frolicking couples. One recent afternoon, a San Diego man had sex in the pool with a woman he picked up at a local bar the night before. Later, he said he was "too busy" to talk about it. 

 Another couple that enjoyed the hotel pool was Australian Steve Bigham, 31, and his Filipina bride, Betty, who turned 21 on June 12, the 100th anniversary of Philippine independence. 

 The couple met in an Angeles City bar, when the 300-pound tool-maker paid Betty's bar fine to take her out on a date. They later married and now wait for her to get a visa to join Bigham Down Under. 

 "The girls here treat you like a king," Bigham said, next to his tiny bride in the hotel restaurant. 

 Bigham is defensive about critics who think foreign men exploit the Philippines. So are some of the entrepreneurs who make their livings by catering to foreign bachelors. 

 American Dave Hamilton manages the Swagman Narra Hotel in Angeles City, where Philippine Adventure Tours of Ventura sometimes stays. 

 In an e-mail response to a reporter's questions, Hamilton said people in the Philippines are tired of getting a bad rap from stories about sex tourism. 

 "(Expatriates), businessmen of all nationalities and the Philippine government are trying to put the image of the Philippines and its people in the proper perspective," Hamilton said. "Why is it no words are spoken of the bachelors that are taken to every city in every country in the world to meet young women?" 

 "Shortly after the public false statements concerning your subject matter," Hamilton said, "we the businessmen within the Angeles City area came up with a response we advertise as much as possible: If you haven't been to the Philippines, shut up!"