On Inquirer reports re AIDS crisis in PH

The Inquirer’s coverage of the AIDS crisis in the Philippines is certainly laudable. According to a recent news report, at least in Davao, many of the victims are young, between the ages of 15 and 25 years old. (“HIV cases rising, their faces getting younger,” Across the Nation, 12/1/15). This is heartbreaking. And what is strange, while the AIDS incidents worldwide are going down, in the Philippines they are rising fast.

According to the report, “males having sex with other males” seems to be the primary mode of transmission. What the article did not specify, though, is that this is anal sex.

May I suggest that the Inquirer include in its reportage basic AIDS-safe sex practices? The article would have to get specific, possibly turning off some readers. But it could save hundreds of lives as well. And the people it would save are lives at their most productive—young people’s lives. If the young do not die from AIDS, they will lead lives full of pain and suffering.

I realize that this is the second letter I’ve sent on this issue. I just wish that the Inquirer would do something more to stem the AIDS epidemic. Most young Filipinos having sex with guys or gays are ignorant, thinking that it could never happen to them. The Philippines, unlike most countries, has no gay press that could inform readers about basic, specific, safer sex practices. That is why it’s essential that the Inquirer do its part to inform the public.

—JONATHAN FOE, Sampaloc, Manila