SEX, LOVE, ROCK AND ROLL Motel business still thriving

They're used for a few hours of wild sex, love and even death, but rarely for a good night's rest or an afternoon siesta.

- IRIS GONZALES

Whichever one's purpose is, motels remain resilient in the Philippines, signaling a strong recovery after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business is busiest on Valentine's Day and the days before and after.

A worker in a motel told The STAR that Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, is reserved for legitimate partners or spouses while Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 are for their paramours.

With their thick walls, mirrors on the ceiling, the privacy they offer and a wide array of themed rooms—Taylor Swift Eras Tour room, anyone?—motels in the country have been the setting for some of the most passionate lovemaking or just hot, sweaty sex.

Motels, whose name originates from the 1925 motor hotel or a hotel for motorists called the Milestone Motel in California, are mostly for travelers in the United States. It's a type of hotel with no central lobby and each room is accessed from its own private garage.

In the Philippines, however, this so-called drive-in feature—direct access to rooms from a parking area with a rolling garage door that closes in seconds the moment guests park—provides the privacy some of the forbidden lovers so badly need.

Indeed, according to past surveys, seven out of 10 couples who check into a motel are illicit lovers, among the biggest ironies in this predominantly Catholic country with a history of 500 years of Christianity.

One can't help but wonder why divorce continues to be met with stiff opposition in Congress despite the prevalence of illicit affairs.