MINDA, THOUGH, says that she and her partner are doing fine, although her boyfriend has no inkling about what she calls her "adventures"; for now, he is merely the recipient of the "tips" she learns from these. Julian, meanwhile, seems disinterested in having a real relationship, preferring instead his "one-hand" stands. He does confess, however, that he goes to massage parlors occasionally to "act out my fantasies."

Then there are those like a husband and wife, both in their 30s, and who in this piece will be known as Mario and Carla. It had been Mario who took to watching porn movies first, in an effort to get an erection, which he noticed he had trouble having after he and Carla had their fifth child. He later convinced Carla to watch the movies with him, and they soon began reading erotic stories and surfing the Net for porn as well.

At first all these seemed to help their sex life, but then Mario began "failing" in bed again. Carla, who was never vocal before, started to complain of not getting the satisfaction she used to have when they were in their 20s. Mario then suggested that they try something they had seen on video and the Net: a threesome.

These days they have "sessions" with a male friend that usually begin with a round of drinks that is soon followed by an erotic video. Then the friend and Carla make the onscreen action come alive while Mario watches. "Mario is always the last act because he needs to heat up," says the friend. All three say they are not porn addicts. "We are just like everybody else," says the friend. "Everybody watches X-rated movies and surf the Internet for porn."

Well, Jun the bootleg sex DVD vendor says he doesn't. He says he's too focused on his business, which now has him selling 10 to 15 X-rated DVDs on a normal workweek, compared to only five to 10 Hollywood movies.

"We're happy when the 'bold' DVDs sell because they cost more," he says. A sex DVD sells from P80 to P150 while a Hollywood pirated film can be had from only P35 to P80.

It's all business, insists Jun. Besides, he says, he cannot go against the teachings of his faith. "It's haram (forbidden) in Islam." — with additional reporting by Alecks P. Pabico