MANILA, Philippines—Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) comprise one-fourth of the 6,326 total cases listed in the National HIV and AIDS Registry, according to Rep. Arnel Ty of the party-list group LPGMA.
Ty is pushing for a review of the 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Law to find ways to reinforce the fight against the sexually transmitted disease. He is also appealing for increased public funding for preventive HIV/AIDS education.
In House Resolution 724, Ty cites the need for Congress to ascertain whether existing policies and measures in the 12-year-old law are sufficient to quell the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improve the conditions of OFWs and other Filipinos living with the disease.
“There is no question that HIV/AIDS is ravaging our OFWs,” Ty said, adding they are extremely susceptible to the disease owing to their “high-risk sexual behavior” when they are outside the country.
Ty said a total of 1,558 OFWs, with the median age of 36 years, have been found either HIV positive or with full-blown acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) since the country began passive surveillance of the disease in 1984.
He said 96 percent or 1,496 of the OFWs with HIV/AIDS acquired the disease through unprotected sexual contact.
Ty said 75 percent of all OFWs diagnosed with HIV/AIDS are males. Of the 36 OFWs reported HIV positive in January and February, 30 were males and six were females.
He said preventive education “remains the best defense against possible infection.” He urged the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to invest aggressively in prevention drives.
There is no known cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS, although treatments can slow the course of the disease, classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. –Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 2025
Philippine Environment Month!
“Action for Nature, for the Future!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
1 Jun – World Day of Parents
5 Jun – World Environment Day
7 Jun – World Food Safety Day
8 Jun – World Oceans Day
12 Jun – World Day Against Child Labour
15 Jun – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
16 Jun – International Day of Family Remittances
17 Jun – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
20 Jun – World Refugee Day
25 Jun – Day of the Seafarer
27 Jun – Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Daily Observances:
June 6: Migrant Workers Day
June 19: Filipino Youth Day
June 25: Day of the Filipino Seafarer
