Ched Rick Gatchalian

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Pageant contestants group helps raise HIV awareness in Cebu City

Annie Perez

ABS-CBN News

<p>It may seem like these members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Cebu City are doing their usual grind to join pageants and do public performances for their own benefit. However, they are always doing it for a cause: to raise awareness for HIV.</p><p>Meet Repos Angels, a non-profit organization founded by Honey Saludes, a barangay councilor of Day-as Cebu City. Their mission is to ensure that many will get tested and the stigma goes away.</p><p>Saludes shared that they founded their group in 2002 first focusing on the underprivileged.</p><p>“Grupo mi sa mga kontesera. What if maghimo ta og nindot padung sa community? (We are a group of pageant contestants. What if we make something nice for the community?)” said Saludes.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2025/6/2/how-to-be-a-better-lgbtq-ally-1748">How to be a better LGBT ally amid fight for protections, queer rights</a></div><p>They started to raise funds to give to poor communities. However, in 2015, they encountered one of the most challenging moments as a group. One of their members was suddenly admitted to the hospital.</p><p>“We found out naa siya’y HIV. Wa ko kahibaw unsa among buhaton. Naglibog ko asa ko moadto. Of course, during that time mauwaw ta moistorya sa ilang status. (We found out that she has HIV. I don’t know what to do. I was confused about where to go. At that time, we were shy to talk about their status),” shared Salunes.</p><p>This started their move to do fund-raising performances for their fellow members but they felt that it wasn’t enough as more of their members also started to exhibit the same symptoms.</p><p>That was when they decided to partner with bigger organizations that were raising HIV awareness and the Cebu City Health Department. Most of them underwent seminars and certifications such as training of trainers. Eventually, they were going to different barangays to echo what they learned.</p><p>“Gamit gyod nila. What if ilang family ang maabtan ana? Kaybaw na sila asa moadto ug unsay simtomas. (This is useful for them. What if their family members will also be like that? Now they know where to go and what are the symptoms),” Saludes further said.</p><p>Among those barangays that they talked to included Barangay Kamayagan, once known to have a high number of cases. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/6/3/hiv-cases-in-ph-rise-by-500-among-ages-15-25-doh-0944">HIV cases in PH rise by 500% among ages 15-25: DOH</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>BARANGAY EFFORTS</strong></div><p>Kamagayan Barangay Captain Raquel Avila recalls how their community used to be frowned upon because of the many individuals that tested positive for HIV, most of those involved with drug abuse.</p><p>It took strong will to involve groups such as Repos Angels and others to intervene into their community.</p><p>“Nagsugod ko og partnership with DOH, city health and NGOs. Program gyod sa barangay nga mag-monitor sa mga individual para ma-test ang HIV (I started with a partnership with DOH, city health and NGOs. It was a program gyod sa barangay nga mag-monitor sa mga individual to test if they have HIV),” said Avila.</p><p>Years passed and the number of individuals with high viral load count already dwindled, organizations also stopped their support yet Avila was determined to continue what she started.</p><p>In recent years, their barangay has allocated a yearly budget for HIV awareness. Even barangay workers have to undergo testing as part of the advocacy.</p><p>“Para mapadayon ang program nga dili angay mahadlok. Kay naa’y tambal para dili mo grabe ilang gipamati. Mas maayo mahibaw-an sa sayo pa (So we can continue the program so that we should not be scared because there are medications to suppress the virus. It is better to find out while it is early”),” added Avila.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/26/new-plhiv-community-center-opens-in-manila-1757">New PLHIV community center opens in Manila</a></div><p>At present, people living with HIV in the barangay are openly accepted and welcomed.</p><p>“Wala raman. Dili mi mahadlok. Magpatest, moinom jud sa tambal ug dili nimo hunungon (It is nothing. We are not scared. Just get tested, always drink the medication and don’t stop it),&quot; said &quot;Jan,&quot; not her real name, who was once a drug injecting user.</p><p>Many of the points that keep reiterating in the discussions are the misconception that HIV could be transmitted through hand shaking, touching or kissing. </p><div> </div><div><strong>CEBU CITY TARGETS UNDETECTABLE CASES</strong></div><p>Cebu City holds the record of the most number of logged HIV cases in Central Visayas at 6,224 from 1984 to April 2025. A huge percentage are asymptomatic.</p><p>Dr. Chona Loma, HIV program coordinator of the city, explained that most of those infected are individuals involved in unprotected sex and sharing of needles between drug users.</p><p>Their department is welcoming every effort to curb HIV cases, so that they will reach their target of undetectable viral load in every person who is living with the virus.</p><p>“We are committed to end the HIV epidemic in Cebu City,” said Dr. Loma.</p><p>Their department is currently handling 1,491 cases where 952 are on antiretroviral therapy. 922 were recently tested for viral load and they found that 912 are already virally suppressed. Meaning, the virus is slowly becoming undetected and lessens the chances of infection.</p><p>“We have to expand our HIV testing, [then] we have more people with HIV who can be treated,” added Dr. Loma.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/6/5/-rising-hiv-cases-teen-pregnancies-show-systemic-gaps-in-reproductive-health-education-1704">&#x27;Rising HIV cases, teen pregnancies show systemic gaps in reproductive health education&#x27;</a></div><p>Medications, check-ups and laboratory exams are also given for free at the city’s social hygiene clinic.</p><p>Despite efforts, challenges remain such as individuals who forget to drink their medications or do not show up for laboratory tests.</p><p>Saludes and her group say they will continue what they’ve started.</p><p>“At the end of the day, choice mo inom or dili pero sa sige namog adto sa mga community daghan mo duol (At the end of the day, it is their choice to drink or not but as we keep on going to the community, many would approach us),” Saludes further added.</p><p>Based on regional data from the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, there are over 6.9 million people living with the virus in Asia-Pacific with only 150,000 AIDS-related deaths.</p><p>The huge disparity in numbers, according to Dr. Loma, speaks largely of the effect of the medications when taken religiously.</p><p>“It is better to have early diagnosis so early diagnosis will be done. They should know their status for early treatment,” Loma further said.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gy88oFwoRSY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Meet Repos Angels, a non-profit organization founded by Honey Saludes, a barangay councilor of Day-as Cebu City. Their mission is to promote HIV awareness, persuade many residents to get tested, and to push back against the stigma.</p>

Meet Repos Angels, a non-profit organization founded by Honey Saludes, a barangay councilor of Day-as Cebu City. Their mission is to promote HIV awareness, persuade many residents to get tested, and to push back against the stigma.

'Beyond being konteseras': Pageant contestants help raise HIV awareness in Cebu City

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'Beyond being konteseras': Pageant contestants help raise HIV awareness in Cebu City

Annie Perez,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 30, 2025 09:07 AM PHT

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Updated September 13, 2025 07:17 PM PHT

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LGBT

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HIV awareness

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