Faces of HIV It was the year 1984 when Filipinos were first confronted with HIV-AIDS as a public health issue. Dolzura Cortez was the first to come out publicly to say that she had AIDS. In 1991, the young Sarah Jane Salazar followed suit and travelled the country to tell her story. Their life stories were even made into movies portrayed by show biz stars. But when they died, HIV and AIDS temporarily lost a public face, until 2009 when Wanggo Gallaga, the son of movie director Peque Gallaga, came out and admitted he had HIV. Cortez, Salazar, Gallaga and now Gorriceta have hoped that with their daring, Filipinos will have a better understanding of the disease and that its rapid spread can be stopped. HIV rising among males age 20-29 The latest data from the Department of Health, however, shows the contrary. To date, there are five to six new HIV cases reported daily to the DOH AIDS Registry. This is a significant increase from an average of one case a day i...
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