By Kerima Bulan T. Navales
An LGBT rights activist has urged others gays to come out of the closet and join the fight against the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. (LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” a term now being accepted by mainstream media).
Wilfredo “Pidot” Villocino said that only through the unity of the gay community can they possibly make their campaign against HIV, the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids), more resounding, strong and effective.
Villocino said there is a disconnect between gays who are out and proud and those who remain to be closeted or discreet—those who kept their sexual preference, orientation and activities under the blanket.
Formerly referred to as “closet queens,“ Villocino said “these gays are scared to be associated with us. They are afraid to be seen with us. We call on them to come out in the open because it is lonely, dark and damp inside the closet. Let us join and stop the spread of HIV,” he said.
This developed as a university-based researcher called for a more intensified campaign for the prevention and control of HIV-Aids by reaching out to the gay community and other vulnerable groups such those engaged in commercial sex.
Dr. Beth Malonzo, professor-researcher based in the Brokenshire College and president of the Mary Star of the Sea Seafarers Family Association, did a study of the sexual behavior of male gays in Davao City, specially the so-called MSM or men having sex with men.
Davao City was earlier reported by health authorities to have the second highest increase in cases of HIV-Aids cases in the country during the last five years and that majority of the victims are gay males.
One of the findings of Dr. Malonzo is that MSMs tend to engage in unprotected or condomless sex and that this behavior could be attributed to lack of knowledge of the dire consequences of taking such a risk.
She said there was also need to study some more the sex practices of the LGBT community in order to strengthen the anti-HIV Aids campaign.
Villocino is the coordinator of the Ang Ladlad Partylist for Davao. He is also actively involved with the local gay group Iwag Dabaw while working as the head of the LGBT desk of the Integrated Gender and Development Division of the city government.
The Aids Society of the Philippines in 2010 said that from 1993, there were 82 reported HIV cases in Davao, 18 of which have been reported dead as of September 2010. The same report showed that from for the entire 2010, the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC) of the Davao City Health Office have recorded 39 HIV cases.
Villocino believes that if only the gay community, including the discreet ones, are open to work on advancing the campaign against the spread of the virus, the growing statistics can be slowed down, if not stopped.
“There is difficulty in reaching out to those who are comfortable with us—out and proud gays. The education and awareness program is really difficult when it comes to us dealing with them. Problem is, they only come to us when they have been tested positive already or when they feel something about themselves already,” Villocino said.
Recently, the City was shaken by a report about a supposed 12-year old girl who tested positive of HIV. Davao City Health Office head Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said the girl is now 17, adding that the cases that the Aids Council are gathering gets to increase every year.
The National Aids Registry of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC), a unit under the Department of Health, has a consolidated data of 124 cases of HIV in Southern Mindanao alone.
Of the said number, 40 of them were homosexuals, 28 were bisexuals and 26 were heterosexuals.
Reacting to this, Villocino said the a silent statistics could still be hiding in men who have sex with men (MSM)—those who are not necessarily gays but would engage in sexual activities with men in exchange for money.
However, Villocino said the most effective way to fight the spread of the virus is through intense education—which includes the consciousness to use condom and use it properly.
“Always bring condom wherever you are going. Use it and use it properly. Do not use lotion or baby oil or shampoo or conditioner as lubricant. Condom is cheap and you can always access lubricants over the counter of convenient stores,” he said.
Ang Ladlad Partylist is aggressively pushing for the passage of the controversial Reproductive Hill Bill.
