MANILA (December 8) — The Department of Health (DOH) is calling on Filipinos to break the taboo around talking about safe sex, saying open conversations are key to fighting the country’s growing HIV problem.
“Safe sex should be talked about because learning starts with conversation. The discourse on HIV will not happen if you yourselves don’t know how to ask questions,” said DOH–Health Promotion Bureau Director Tina Marasigan during the World AIDS Day Community Event at Lyceum of Alabang in Muntinlupa City on Friday.
Marasigan stressed that stigma and shame prevent critical HIV literacy. “We should be breaking that barrier so real HIV literacy can happen,” she said.
She urged schools, organizations, and communities to create safe spaces for discussions about sex. “Dapat makapag-open ng safe space para pag-usapan ang sex. Dapat normal na siyang pinag-uusapan kasi may problema na ang Pilipinas sa HIV,” she added.
The official encouraged everyone to take part: “Do your part to create a safe space to talk about sex. Pag nagawa natin na ang pag-uusap sa sex ay walang stigma, susunod na ang HIV.”
The event drew college students and representatives from groups like Love Yourself, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Sustained Health Initiatives of the Philippines (SHIP), and medical societies including the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines.
