BAGUIO CITY- In celebration of World AIDS Day, the AIDS Society of the Philippines and Mt. Cloud Bookshop in partnership with Baguio Writers Group held its 3^rd Scarlet Letters from Baguio, a poetry slam for HIV awareness dated last December 5, 2014 6:00 PM at Mt. Cloud Bookshop.

The organizers invited distinguished judges to witness the event namely: Prof. Bely Ygot, incoming Board of Trustees member of AIDS Society of the Philippines and UCCA Director of Polytechnic University of the Philippines; Mr. Frank Cimatu, journalist and member of Baguio Writers Group; Mr. Kervin Calabias, last year’s grand prize winner of 2^nd Scarlet Letters; and Mr. Karlo Altomonte, actor and his second time as judge. Twelve (12) registered poets joined and there were three elimination rounds in this poetry slam. During the first round, competitors performed pieces pre-selected by the organizers for the judges’ first impression. The top 8 poets that made it to second round performed a prepared, ORIGINAL piece that touches any aspect about “love”. In the third and final round, the remaining top 5 poets held in isolation for ten minutes to write a new poem on a surprise theme “VIRGINITY” given by the judges. After 10 minutes in isolation, poets called in one by one to perform their new piece. The judges were also asked to comment on the performance and written piece of the poets.

 After the deliberation, the top 3 winners hailed as follows: Mr. Paulino Cuison II from University of the Philippines-Baguio as first place, Ms. Villia Jeeremovas from University of Toronto as second place and Ms. Solana Perez as third place. Cash prizes, certificates and other gifts from sponsors Cafe by the Ruins Dua, Hill Station, AIDS Society of the Philippines, the Baguio Writers Group and Mt. Cloud Bookshop awarded to winners.

1^st place winning piece:

Linamnam ng Pagtatalik
ni Paulino II Cuison

Malulusog na dibdib.
Balingkinitang katawan.
Kayumangging kutis.
May linamnam ang pagtatalik
May talim din ang lipunan.

Aba! Birhen!

Birhen kang banaag ng lipunan
ng mga matang mapanising
nagtatali ng mga pisi na
sumusulsi sa kahinahunan
ng pagkababae.

Aba! Birhen?

Birhen kang nagnanaknak ng dugo
sa sinapupunang kahit katorse o
trese ay naglilimbag ng katinuang
walang liwana, walang kilos
na pagpapanata ng pagkalalaki.

Aba birhen!

Birhen kang ang puri ay
walang dangal mula sa iyong
pagnamnam ng mga nagkukubling
hinanakit, pasanin at tampulan
ng kasalanan, karangyaan, at
pagkamuhi sa bahaghari ng
pagbabakla.

Babae! Birhen?

Lalaki? Birhen!

Bakla?

Ako!

Birhen.

Birhen?

Aba! Birhen ka?

Birhen!

Birhen kang naglililok ng
katagang pumapaimbulog sa
kasanayan at pagpapakadalubhasa.

Babae.

Lalaki.

Birhen?

Aba! Birhen ka mula
sa iyong kukoteng pumapailanlang
ang mga tayutay na walang
kabuluhan.

Bakla!

Aba! Hindi.

Hindi ako birhen.
Ngunit sa minsan kong
pagpapaslit at kabataan,
Birhen akong mahusay,
May kasanayan.

Lalaki!

Babae?

Aba!

Bakla! Aba birhen?

Sana’y sa iyong mata’y
walang alipustang magdudulot
nang nagbubukal na kahinaan.

Birhen!

Ang iyong mga mata ang aking
paningin.
 
Birhen! Ako?
 
Hindi.
 

2^nd place winning piece:

Virginity
By: Villia Jeeremovas
 
It is all about lies
About who did and who didn’t
About who will and who won’t.
 
It is all about fear
To lose it or not lose it
To have it be known.
 
Yes, it is all about fear
To be denied
To be defied
To be alone
To say yes, to say no.
 
It is all about lies
About what lies ahead
What lies behind
What lies in wait
Yes, it is all about lies.
 
Yours and mine.
 

3^rd place winning piece:
 
Virginity
By: Solana Perez
 
Are you sure? It might hurt.
Hey, babe, I go horseback riding almost 8 hours a week.
I can take it.
But No, she couldn’t.
 
Is it okay?
Oh come on, I know grandparents who drop acid and smoke a shit ton of weed everyday.
A needle ain’t so different.
Oh but it was.
 
You’re positive. I’m sorry.
Uhm. I’m positive that I’m not.
Hell no, hell hell hell fucking no!
I only did one each.
One night unprotected.
One needle shared.
 
Oh baby. YOLO. You only live once, you know.
There’s a first time for everything.
Positivity is like the worst marriage and baby, ever.
 
The kind where I say
“I saved my maidenhead for you.”
And the doctor say
“Till death do you part.”
 
You fucked we good, HIV.
And it was my first time too.

With the international community’s strong campaign against the virus, the Philippines still remains one of seven countries with a continued increase of HIV infections.

Fact is it’s the younger generation who take the biggest blow from the epidemic. The latest statistics show that 30% of the people diagnosed for September 2012 alone were 20-29 years of age — the age where dreams for the future are cemented and the path towards them are chosen or are already being taken.

We’re facing a looming threat, and the biggest challenge is how to get the public to fight with us, or even to just start caring. In a time where there’s a global decline in the new cases, why are we still on a steep increase in number?

The low-down on HIV and the Philippines

The first AIDS case was during the early 1980s. People had a hard time grappling with it since it was rapidly spreading in the US and it involved a transmission that is a taboo topic (you guessed it, sex), until now in this Catholic country. But the advocacy went on, struggling, but it strove to provide correct information to the public. What was just 1 newly infected person in every 3 days a decade back is now 1 in every 3 hours, and still growing.

Currently, the government is still under the funding of an international agency, providing support to HIV prevention in priority cities in the country as well as treatment, care, and support for people living with HIV. The DOH has been preparing for the departure of its major funder, and is facing uncertainty as to what the end of the project would mean for the Philippines.

The project helped us equip the social hygiene clinics with free HIV testing, a handful of hospitals with HIV and AIDS Core Teams to handle people living with HIV, and provide free ARV treatment (under specific conditions).

On the other hand, the past few years have provided the advocacy with great allies from the private sector. Organizations like Take The Test, Project Headshots Clinic, The Love Yourself, Yoga For Life, Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines, and other groups have taken on the challenge of making HIV more than just a health issue, but a social issue.

Your urban guide to HIV information around the Metro!

Hopefully not a repeat of the San Francisco AIDS scare

In the stats, 96% of HIV cases are males.

It might not be known to a lot of people but what is happening to us here, with the exponential growth of the HIV epidemic, has happened before in San Francisco during the 80s. It was the time where the virus was not even known as HIV yet but was called a lot of different names, a couple of the more famous ones are Gay Related Infectious Disease (GRID) or the “Gay Cancer”. If you look at the data now, I’m sure you’ll see the similarity.

Just to make things clear, homosexuality does not equate to HIV. What needs to be seen here is the persistence of the government to deny the public of the basic means to prevent the spread of the infection. Prioritization needed: Education for all, acceptance of condoms as one of the best ways to protect the people, and acknowledging the necessity to have legislation that will cradle the advocacy for HIV awareness and the care for the positive community.

The LGBT community in the Philippines has been vehemently trying to promote HIV awareness, especially since most of the cases are tallied under infection via homosexual activity. Much like what they’ve clamored for in the US, they call for the government to allow them to freely express their sexual rights and recognizing the fact that there is a need to focus on HIV as a national concern, especially since HIV and AIDS isn’t a “gay disease” but it affects everyone. Everyone has sex, and doing so unprotected increases the risk not only of getting HIV, but also of other sexually transmissible infections. And to quote Ms. Teresita Marie Bagasao, UNAIDS Philippines Country Coordinator, “If we lift the stigma, lift the discrimination, people will come forward and participate in finding solutions to the problem.”

HIV, the Internet, and me

The Internet is everywhere, and that’s a fact. The boom of social networks and the accessibility of mobile internet contribute to satiating the Filipino’s thirst for being connected with people. One of the drawbacks brought upon by this innovation is the increase in sexual negotiations. And since the youth are growing in the world of Android and iOS, ensuring their guidance about sex and HIV should be a priority.

This was given recognition by the DOH and AIDS Society of the Philippines, Inc., which paved the way for the promotion of HIV education and free testing services via social networking sites. As earlier mentioned, the private sector advocacy groups took to the internet to mount their HIV prevention advocacies. The AIDS Candlelight Memorial activities that celebrate the lives of people living with HIV, and World AIDS Day which is the livelier and awareness advocacy-driven event, are the two events where most of the groups come together to help out, especially promoting activities online.

On a good note, education has been a lot easier to disseminate because of the internet. Cool ways of telling people the basics about HIV and how to stay protected have sprung from the creative minds of people from different sectors. Photographer to the celebrities Niccolo Cosme has the yearly Project Headshots Clinic online campaign that features celebrities on portrait shots that is coupled with statements about how HIV has affected their lives. Much is to be explored with the presence of the internet, hopefully more of the positive ones.

Helping out isn’t all too hard anymore as well. All you need do is go online, and find these organizations. Pretty sure they all have online handles.

What happens next?

That’s pretty much up to you.

According to Dr. Eric Tayag of the Department of Health, the projected number of HIV cases in the country by 2015 is 30,000 or more.

How do you start? The best way is to have you tested for HIV and educating yourself about it. HIV testing is the only way one finds out if he or she has the virus. Knowledge is power, they say, and if you know your status, you’re well on your way to a better life.

Being HIV positive and knowing it soon is the start of having yourself undergo the right treatment and is your best springboard to changing your lifestyle to a healthier way of living. There are also institutions and organizations that provide support to people living with HIV, both government and private, so there’s always somewhere to go to. Being HIV negative, however, should be always taken seriously. Knowing your status and continuously living a risky sexual lifestyle always puts a target on your wellness, so having a negative status should be given priority and kept as such.

Education is pretty much the key to ending confusion and disparity between morality and what is actually happening. Knowing HIV 101 not only gives people the ammunition for war against the epidemic, it also builds the foundation to a well-informed country, further preventing another prospective HIV case.

It’s all about knowing where we stand and why we do the things we do. People have different reasons for what they do under the sheets, especially when they’re young. I always say one thing though, explore your sexuality responsibly.

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For more information, please visit our website aidsphil.org. For your sexual health needs, contact iCON Clinic at 0917-826-iCON (4266) / 0932-877-iCON (4266). The clinic is open on Saturdays 1pm-9pm.

Getting to Zero – Zero AIDS-Related Deaths: 2011 World AIDS Day Theme Announced – (September 5 – Cape Town, South Africa) World AIDS Day this year is about “Getting to Zero.” Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS Related Deaths. Backed by the United Nations the “Getting to Zero” campaign runs until 2015 and builds on last year’s successful World AIDS Day “Light for Rights” initiative encompassing a range of vital issues identified by key affected populations.

“The potential for creative, connected and meaningful campaigning is really exciting,” says World AIDS Campaign Africa Director, Linda Mafu. “Our organization will focus on Zero AIDS Related Deaths, but the choice is there for others to pick a different zero or all three.”

The World AIDS Campaign focus on “Zero AIDS Related Deaths” signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all; a call for governments to act now. A demand they honour promises like the Abuja declaration and that African Governments at very least hit agreed targets for domestic spending on health and HIV in support of the human right to the best attainable level of health care for all.

It’s a global campaign that spotlights how our fundamental right to health is intrinsically and inextricably linked to other basic rights – The right to food, to shelter, to freedom, to clean water and safety. Crucial too is access to affordable life saving quality medicines free from the crippling effects of excessive profit taking. In the coming months the World AIDS Campaign will be spotlighting a range of Getting to Zero initiatives to help see an end to AIDS related deaths.

“It’s going to be amazing decision makers need to understand that people living with HIV , the marginalized, the dispossessed – all of us – want our rights.” Linda Mafu adds. “I can see all sort of events on World AIDS Day – For example, marches that end in Light for Rights type actions outside Finance Ministries where beams of torchlight shine on buildings where under spending on HIV and health cost thousands of lives.

It’s time to use our imaginations and let everyone know Getting to Zero is a must.”

The global HIV response is at a pivotal moment, where huge strides forward are at serious risk and current approaches are reaching their limits. Only one third of the 15 million people living with HIV in need of life long treatment are receiving it. New infections continue to outpace the number of people starting treatment, while the upward trend in resources suffered a serious downturn this year.

“Zero New HIV Infections” and “Zero Discrimination” are equally as likely to spark high impact events from small scale community vigils to nationwide events using the universally recognized shape of zeros and the power of light to get life and death issues the attention they deserve.

For December 1st 2011 right up until 2015 it’s envisioned that different regions and groups will each year chose one or all of the Zeros that best addresses their situation.

The decision to go with the millennium development related goal of “Getting to Zero” comes after extensive discussions among people living with HIV, health activists, broader civil society and many others – more than a hundred organizations in all.

The vision for this year’s World AIDS Day and beyond may be aspirational but the journey towards its attainment is laid with concrete milestones.

10 Goals for 2015 – Courtesy of UNAIDS

- Sexual transmission of HIV reduced by half, including among young people, men who have sex with men and transmission in the context of sex work;

- Vertical transmission of HIV eliminated and AIDS-related maternal deaths reduced by half;

- All new HIV infections prevented among people who use drugs.

- Universal access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV who are eligible for treatment;

- TB deaths among people living with HIV reduced by half;

- All people living with HIV and households affected by HIV are addressed in all national social protection strategies and have access to essential care and support.

- Countries with punitive laws and practices around HIV transmission, sex work, drug use or homosexuality that block effective responses reduced by half;

- HIV-related restrictions on entry, stay and residence eliminated in half of the countries that have such restrictions;

- HIV-specific needs of women and girls are addressed in at least half of all national HIV responses;

- Zero tolerance for gender-based violence.