ALARMED by the prevalence of new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country in January this year, lawmakers are seeking a massive information campaign to increase the public’s awareness in preventing the spread of the virus.
Citing the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry report, Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party-List, Gabriela) said there are 380 new HIV cases in January 2013 alone with 307 cases coming from the males-having-sex-with males (MSM), accounting for 82 percent.
Ilagan (Party-list, Gabriela) underscored the urgent need and importance of sex education among teenagers. “This sex education should be conducted extensively in high school and college,” Ilagan said.
Ilagan said it is a must to include HIV/AIDS in the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) considering they were found to have contributed 37 new HIV cases with all but one coming from sexual contact.
Ilagan also stressed the need for a massive information campaign regarding HIV/AIDS in communities with those who are positive giving testimonies.
“The AIDS councils as mandated by law in local government units (LGUs) should be formed where they are absent or should be strengthened where they already exist,” Ilagan said.
Rep. Ma. Carmen Zamora (1st District, Compostela Valley) believed that lawmakers have already taken a very solid step towards increasing awareness through the enactment of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. Part and parcel of the discussions in the debate tackled increasing levels of HIV infections.
“In sum, it was discussed that protected sexual interaction can be available if both education and responsible access to contraceptive devices were provided as a social service to the public,” Zamora said.
Zamora said HIV/AIDS prevention is part of the responsible health platform of the government under the RH measure.
“While it may take a while before we see the results, we are confident that the incidence of infection, disease, maternal mortality and unwanted pregnancies will decline in the future through RH intervention and education,” Zamora stressed.