AT least one in every 10 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases diagnosed in the first quarter of this year engaged in transactional sex.
Data from the HIV and AIDS Surveillance of the Philippines showed 5,101 cases were recorded from January to March. Of the number, about 12 percent, or 596 cases, “engaged in transactional sex within the past 12 months,” the DOH said.
A total of 249 of the cases paid for sex (248 males and a female), 239 cases accepted payment for sex (231 males and eight females), and 108 (105 males and three females) both paid for and accepted payment sex.
Classified as people who engaged in transactional sex are those who accepted payment, paid for sex, or done both, in the form of money or in kind.
Since the reporting of transactional sex began in December 2012, 16,586 cases have been reported.
“Fifty-four percent or 8,962 of the total cases, who had history of transactional sex, were diagnosed from 2020 to 2025,” said the DOH.
Meanwhile, Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada has filed a resolution urging the Committee on Health and Demography to conduct an investigation on the rising number of Filipinos infected with HIV.
“The alarming increase in HIV infections requires immediate action from all sectors, including Congress, to address the far-reaching social and economic impacts related to the ballooning number of HIV cases in the country,” Estrada said in Senate Resolution No. 1370 that was filed last Monday.
Estrada said there is an urgent need to review, update, and strengthen policies on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and education in response to the DOH data which paints a troubling picture of an impending public health crisis.
“Current policies meant to educate the public about HIV and prevent its spread need to be regularly reviewed to make sure they’re being implemented effectively. HIV continues to pose serious risks to people’s health, and the government must act quickly — especially by ensuring that medicines are readily available and accessible — to help stop the virus from spreading even further,” Estrada said.
According to the DOH surveillance report, an average of 57 new HIV cases were detected daily in the first quarter of the year, or a monthly average of 1,700 cases, marking a 50 percent increase from the same period last year.
