AHF Philippines Country Program Manager Dr. Ryan C. Guinaran (from rifht), AHF Asia Bureau Deputy Chief Dr. Yugang Bao, and Ms. Loretta Wong, AHF Global deputy chief director for Global Advocacy and Policy, clap during the media briefing on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
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QUEZON CITY, October 26, 2026 (SDN) — Behind every HIV infection is a human being, not a mere statistic in the battle against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
News organizations and / or their reporters and bloggers — everyone in the Quad Media should refrain from using words or phrases that harm and stigmatize people diagnosed with HIV because they tend to withdraw. Those who suspect they have the virus may also avoid testing for fear of being outed and ostracized.
HIV is not AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) per se, but its offshoot once the body afflicted with the virus has weakened the body’s immune system to a point of no return.
HIV is not an automatic illness of members of the LBTQ community; the virus can infect or be transmitted to anyone, regardless of age, gender and/or sexual orientation.
HIV has no vaccine or cure, but it can be treated, and people living with HIV (PLHIV) can live a healthy life once their viral load reached the stage of being undetectable or untransmissible through sustained application of Antiretroviral Therapy or ART. Key is continuous treatment.
These are some of the messaging the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Philippines headed by Dr. Ryan C. Guinaran wants to escalate to counter the myths and misconceptions, as well as harmful and stigmatizing news reports affecting the country’s response to the threat of HIV on Filipinos.
To spread this messaging, the AHF Philippines conducted a press briefing at its Headquarters here along Scout Castor Street, Barangay Laging Handa, on October 22 dubbed “Empowered Stories: Advancing Accurate, Ethical, and Stigma-Free Reporting on HIV” for a select number of reporters.
Flying in from abroad were Ms. Loretta Wong, deputy chief director for Global Advocacy and Policy at AHF Global, and Dr. Yugang Bao, deputy chief of Asia Bureau, AHF Asia Bureau.
The three AHF executives kicked off the briefing on the continued growth of HIV virus in the country through a photo-op holding a red clock as they pointed to it to signify what they warned is an “HIV ticking time bomb”.
Read: Philippines in the claws of an “HIV ticking time bomb”?
The problem with insensitive, inaccurate, and sensationalized reporting of some members of the Philippine Quad Media has prompted AHF Philippines to come up with and institute its AHF Media Awards to strengthen their understanding of HIV, HIV-related terminology, and key issues affecting people carrying the virus.
Dr. Guinaran’s organization noted in a briefer what they described as the critical role the media plays “in shaping public perception, driving discourse, and influencing health-seeking behaviors. In the context of the Philippines’ growing HIV epidemic, accurate and responsible reporting is essential to ensuring that the public receives factual information while protecting the dignity and rights of people living with and affected by HIV.”
Harmful, stigmatizing news reports, phrases, terms, words to avoid
In a lecture presented by Marketing and Advocacy Officer Vic Arthur Masliyan, AHF Philippines, in the “HIV 101” seminar, he told members of the media about news reports that tended to fuel stigma against people carrying the virus.
AHF Philippines wants to see news reports not using anymore the words “prostitute” and “prostitution” because they are terms loaded with meanings “that isolate women and trans women of 18 years or older engaging in sex work.”
Instead, media should use the terms “sex worker” and “sex work”, the AHF Philippines lecture suggested.
Another slide showed a list of other harmful and stigmatizing language that news editors / reporters commonly use in their news stories, among them, “drug addict”, “adik”, “durugista” which should rather be “people who use drugs (PWUD), or people who inject drugs (PWID)”.
More terms that harm and stigmatize, the AHF Philippines said: “bakla”, “bading”, “transgender”, and “LGBT” when use as headlines or title of news reports.
“Linking people’s sexual orientation and gender identity to reporting drug use, HIV, and so-called sexual deviants (orgies, party and play, etc.) make for sensational careless reporting,” the anti-HIV organization emphasized.
Reporters should ask themselves if a subject’s sexual orientation or gender is important to the story, but better to focus on what the act was instead of the person’s identities involved in whatever is being written about, the organization said. Then, find neutral terms for the report that does not make judgment (“tao”, “lalake”, or “babae”).
Using “HIV/AIDS” harms and stigmatizes, especially if used interchangeably. “HIV is the virus while AIDS occurs when the immune system becomes severely damaged due to the prolonged and untreated presence of HIV,” the organization pointed out. HIV should not mean AIDS, and vice versa.
News reports should refrain from using “HIV-infected person”, “HIV or AIDS patient”, “HIV carrier”, “HIV victim”, and “HIV sufferer” as they “remove the agency of the person involved and define their entire personhood,” AHF Philippines emphasized, as well as present them as helpless.
Empowering reporting uses “PLHIV” or people living with HIV (Taong may HIV). Or “diagnosed with HIV” (Na-diagnosed na may HIV).
Dr. Guinaran and his colleagues also want to convey the message that “behind every HIV story is a human story,” as well as remind everyone that “HIV is not AIDS…is not a death sentence, and that people living with HIV can live long and healthy lives.”
Condom still most effective against HIV transmission — AHF
Dr. Guinaran also pointed out that close contacts can’t transmit the virus between a person diagnosed with HIV and another person without it, reiterating that this is one of the many myths and misconceptions that surround the illness.
He believes that one strong direction and lead from the government to unite all sectors of the society in fighting HIV would go a long way, adding there are many in the community who are interested in working versus HIV but they are doing it one their own.
Another challenge in the effort, he added, is that while there are many who want to be tested for viral load, however, there’s “no supply of testing kits”. Dr. Guinaran said one of the reasons for this is that supply is centralized.
“So, that’s where we can see if we are truly committed,” Dr. Guinaran said, even as he conceded that government is doing something to address the HIV epidemic, but it is slow. “The biggest challenge is this is a ‘system’ (where each one is) doing it on its own.”
Ms. Wong, Dr. Bao, and Dr. Guinaran also cited condom’s effectivity against the transmission of HIV. The three AHF officials said condom is the most effective prevention tool to fight the spread of the virus.
“Condom,” Dr. Bao pointed out, “can protect with 99 percent accuracy, but (Filipinos — 15 to 24 years old) don’t use it.”
“Condom, condom, condom…It is still the best protection that everyone needs if we are talking about HIV transmission,” blurted out Ms. Wong. “So, this is not rocket science; it is cheap, you can put it in your wallet, in your handbag, in your wallet. Why don’t we do it?”
Dr. Bao said while some people are optimistic about ending HIV, “We want to call on the world to let more people know that HIV is not over. There is no vaccine, you know. Prevention is condom use.”
So, what the Philippines is up against?
Figures from the Epidemiology Bureau of the Department of Health’s (DOH-EB) “HIV/AIDS & ART Surveillance of the Philippines (HASP) 2026” do not look good.
Consider this: of the 288,000 estimated PLHIV (people living with HIV), 78% (224,150) of them could potentially be transmitting the virus today without their knowledge.
Would the national government be able to overcome the menace of the HIV epidemic? Remember that AHF officials Ms. Wong, Dr. Bao, and Dr. Guinaran had already warned of an “HIV ticking time bomb” they fear might explode if not enough is done. — EDD K. USMAN / SDN
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This story was updated for more information and details.