BACOLOD City – The province of Iloilo recorded 274 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as of September 2024 – the highest in Western Visayas, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The number is 22.49 percent of the 1,218 new cases reported in the region as of September last year, said Dr. Carina Frayco, head of the Amlig Health Clinic of the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) during the media launch of the International Condom Day Caravan 2025 in this city yesterday, February 13.
The remaining new cases were recorded in Negros Occidental and Iloilo City with 249 each, Capiz (131), Bacolod City (125), Aklan (122), and Antique (70).
Frayco said of the total new cases in the region, 66.26 percent were males who had sex with males and 14.78 percent had sex with both males and females.
She added that 29.47 percent of the cases aged 15 to 24.
“The number is increasing due to male-to-male sex (MSM) or those with multiple partners at a minimum of three per persons,” Frayco said.
Meanwhile, data from the DOH showed that from 1984 to September 2024, the Philippines logged a total of 139,662 HIV cases.
The predominant mode of transmission is male-to-male sex (MSM). Additionally, 10.1 percent of the cases were through heterosexual and three percent acquired HIV through injecting drugs, particularly when needles are shared or reused through drug injection.
The most affected age group for the newly reported cases were 25 to 34 years old at 47 percent and 15 to 24 years old at 32 percent, DOH added.
PREVENTION
Meanwhile, the Amlig Health Unit encourages every individual particularly those sexually active to use condom to prevent HIV infection or sexually transmitted infection(STI).
Frayco said condom is 98 percent effective against HIV when used correctly. It prevents STI transmission and helps reduce unintended pregnancies among young people.
“Only 40 percent of sexually active young Filipinos use condoms consistently. Condom use among MSM dropped from 52 percent in 2016 to 37 percent in 2024,” she said.
She added: “Only 20 percent of at-risk youth know where to get free HIV testing and PrEP.”
CONDOM DAY
Dr. Ryan Guinanan, country program manager of AIDS Health Care Foundation(AHF), a partner of the Amlig Health Clinic, said that in the Philippines, stigma and misinformation still prevent many from accessing condoms, putting lives at risk.
“This International Condom Day, we reaffirm our commitment to making condoms available, accessible, and acceptable for all. Protecting yourself should never be a privilege-it’s a right,” he said.
In Bacolod City, Frayco said free condoms and HIV testing are available at Amlig Health Clinic at CLMMRH and Bagani Community Center in Barangay 7.
It can also be availed at Cadiz City HIV Treatment Room in Cadiz City Hospital and HAPLOS Clinic in Lorenzo D. Zayco District Hospital in Kabankalan City./PN
