QUEZON CITY has recorded 421 new cases of HIV from January to May 2025, according to data from the city’s health department.
The figure reflects a 2.43 percent increase from the 411 cases reported in the same period last year.
Of the new cases this year, 149 individuals or 35 percent were between the ages of 15 and 24. Among them, 40 percent were identified as students.
“With the significant increase of cases among ages 15 to 24, we make sure that all of them are receiving the treatment they need in our city’s Social Hygiene Clinics,” said Mayor Joy Belmonte.
Quezon City continues to offer free HIV testing, counseling, and treatment through its public health facilities.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 5,101 new HIV cases and 145 HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 3,409 new cases in the same period last year, an increase of around 50%, averaging 57 new cases daily.
The DOH warns that the Philippines now has the highest rate of new HIV infections in the Western Pacific, with a staggering 500% rise among 15–25-year-olds over the past decade. Included among the newly infected is a 12-year-old child from Palawan.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has proposed declaring HIV a national public health emergency, emphasizing that “Ang malaking problema po natin ay hindi monkeypox kundi ang paglaganap ng HIV.”
“Ang maganda na magkaroon tayo ng national public health emergency for HIV kasi magtutulong-tulong ang buong lipunan,” he added.