Rising HIV cases in the Philippines: Conservative culture is not to blame

A Facebook post is once again making the rounds, blaming religion—with Christianity largely implied—for the rise in HIV cases in the Philippines. The claim is familiar: that faith is anti-safe sex, anti-sex education, and therefore the root of the epidemic. As usual, the comments are closed. Because nothing says confidence in one’s argument like avoiding debate.

Obviously, the Catholic Church is not responsible for the HIV crisis. Department of Health data showed that the most affected group is men who have sex with men (MSM). Are we expected to believe this demographic is abstaining from condoms out of fear of the catechism? That they hesitate to open Grindr because of what priests might say? The idea is absurd.

Yet critics continue to blame “conservative culture,” as if HIV were the result of morality imposed by religious institutions. But we don’t live in a sexually repressed theocracy. The Reproductive Health Law has been in place for over a decade. Free condoms and government family planning services are widely available. PrEP is accessible, and NGOs flood social media with sex-positive content endorsed by celebrities chosen to resonate with at-risk groups.

So, if people are still having unprotected sex with multiple partners—or engaging in anal sex, which remains significantly riskier than other forms of intercourse—it’s not because a certain Fr. Reyes disapproves.

Religion has no veto power over public health. The Department of Health doesn’t report to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), or any religious council. No priest is patrolling condom shelves. No INC minister is banning PrEP. Religion isn’t blocking prevention; risky behavior is. Just look at the rise of “spas” and saunas that openly enable high-risk encounters, or scroll Reddit where casual hookups are celebrated and rewarded with applause.

If anything, much of the country’s sexual norms have shifted due to imported Western ideas that equate freedom with the absence of boundaries. So to blame “conservatism” is a convenient distraction from the real cultural drivers behind risky behavior.

Unfortunately, if you point out the well-documented fact that MSM are disproportionately affected, you’re labeled homophobic. But silencing that reality does nothing to help the MSM community. If anything, it does them a grave disservice. You cannot address a health crisis by refusing to name where and how it’s happening. Dismissing facts as bigotry may win points on social media, but it costs lives in the real world.

And what about abstinence? We’re told it doesn’t work. Maybe so, but what’s been tried? Was it paired with honest discussions on porn, peer pressure, and hookup culture? Or just a slogan: “Don’t do it”? No wonder it didn’t stick.

The Catholic Church also teaches a different kind of sex ed, one that treats sexuality as meaningful, not mechanical. In this view, the safest sex is found in faithful love within marriage. It isn’t anti-sex. It’s anti-stupidity.

HIV isn’t new. It has been around for decades. We’ve had years of public awareness campaigns, digital resources, and social media influencers repeating the same prevention messages. Anyone with a phone can Google “HIV risks” in five seconds. The problem isn’t access to information. The problem is that information can’t compete with desire, especially when culture tells you that self-restraint is oppression

Let’s be blunt: the epidemic isn’t the result of religious interference. It’s the result of religious absence. The Church doesn’t coerce—it teaches. If people ignore it, that’s their freedom. But don’t blame the very institution they rejected when the consequences arrive.

Andrew Dungca,

freelanceeditorph@gmail.com