10 new suspected HIV cases reported in Angeles City

ANGELES CITY, Philippines  – City health authorities yesterday reported 10 new suspected cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) here.

Dr. Teresita Esguerra, chief of the social hygiene center of the city health office, also noted an eight percent increase in cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among thousands of women registered as workers in local bars and other tourist-oriented establishments.

She told The STAR that there are about 13,000 registered workers in local entertainment establishments who are all required under a city ordinance to undergo weekly smear tests at the social hygiene center.

“Since last July, the number of such workers coming for the tests has increased from an average of 700 to 1,200 daily,” she said.

Center nurse Lynne Velasco quoted the STD victims as saying that Koreans have replaced Americans as the suspected sources of their ailments.

Angeles earned the tag “sin city” as American soldiers stationed at the former Clark US Air Force base frequented the “red light districts” here for their “rest and recreation.”

The red light districts suffered a slump when the Americans abandoned Clark in 1991, but resurfaced a few years later when Clark was converted into a special economic zone.

Esguerra noted that since 1985, at least 100 locals, mostly women working in bars, have been confirmed to be HIV-positive.

HIV eventually leads to the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

“A rapid test we did recently revealed 10 more suspected HIV cases but we are not informing the concerned girls yet until we receive a confirmation from a laboratory in Manila,” she said.

Esguerra, however, said her office has lost track of most of the 100 confirmed HIV cases. “We got feedback that some went back to their provinces, while about 10 have already died of AIDS,” she said.

Velasco said the victims included three siblings, now aged two, four, and seven who were orphaned by parents who died from AIDS. These children are now under the care of a foundation in Manila.

Esguerra cited limitations provided by Republic Act 8524 of the Philippine National AIDS Law that prevent health authorities from tracking down probable sources of HIV in the city’s foreign community.

“We also cannot control the activities of the HIV patients. We cannot forbid them to return to the bars to work, neither can we warn the bars on the health of the patients,” she said.

Esguerra and Velasco said attempts to provide the patients with other forms of livelihood have failed.

“The cash given them just vanishes. It seems that their experience in bars has developed an outlook for easy money,” Velasco said.

She said six confirmed HIV patients are now under the care of the city government. Four of them are employed as “peer advisors” to other bar workers.

Esguerra noted though that compared to other major cities in the country, the local HIV situation is not as bad. “But we have to be vigilant,” she added.

Next month, she said random HIV tests would be done among registered and freelance entertainers as well as tricycle drivers, among whom STD cases have been reported to be significant.

“At least 300 from each group would undergo behavioral and blood tests,” she said.

Esguerra said her office is pushing the availability of condoms in nightspots to help prevent the spread of HIV and other STDs.

“The female entertainers, however, report that most of their customers refuse the use of condom. In gay bars, the male workers are embarrassed to admit having had sex with customers, so they refuse blood tests,” she said.