EXERCISE IN SCIENCE WRITING & REPORTING

Prepared by: EOCalapit/September 2014

Rewrite the sentences when appropriate and rearrange the paragraph to make a concise
story about HIV-Aids in the Philippines. Also provide a title for the story.

500 new HIV-Aids cases recorded in the 1st quarter 2014

leaders of non-government organisations:

o Casual sex spurred by social media and mobile phones has been blamed for the
growing number of HIV-Aids cases
o IT-assisted sexual encounters resulted in hedonistic multiple partners

University of the Philippines Population Institute:

o Only 17 per cent of young people knows about HIV-Aids (a survey on sexual
practices of young people in 2013)
o There are 5.4 million who engage in premarital sex without protection.
o There are 1.4 million who are involved in casual sex. About half a million young
men have sex with men the PPI survey revealed.

Candle lighting was part of the 31st observation of IACM, one of the worlds longest
running groups engaged in mobilisation campaign against the spread of HIV-Aids. This
years theme is: Lets Keep the Light on HIV. A candle light represents one person who
have died of Aids and for people living with HIV.

AIDS reductions is part of the MDGs. This year the number of new infections is 25
percent more than last year.

Youth Commissioner Percival Cendana:

o This could happen because the government has been remiss in undertaking a
massive information campaign to stop the spread of HIV-Aids. It should have
been done five years ago to make the Philippines achieve the United Nations
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target that HIV-Aids cases should be less
than one per cent of a countrys population
o statement made during the International Aids Candlelight Memorial (IACM) at
Manilas Bonifacio Park on May 16.
o The lack of information campaigns has affected two generations of people
afflicted with HIV-Aids.
o There are good reason to be alarmed.

The figure arrived at is really alarming. said the unnamed statistician.

Health department:

o Furthermore, the 498 new cases from January to March this year represents a 35
per cent increase for the same period in 2013. Annual HIV-Aids cases have
doubled every two years since 2008, according to the data of the.
o At the same time, the Philippines is already one of nine countries whose rates of
new HIV-Aids cases have grown to more than 25 per cent, said the same data.
o There were 498 new HIV-Aids cases recorded in the first quarter. It raised to
1,432 the number of cases from January to March.
o Fifty-three of the 498 cases in the first quarter were full blown Aids. This would
mean that the symptoms began around 10 years ago according to Health Secretary
Enrique Ona.
o Total infection is 17,948 cases reported since 1984 to 2014.
o Monitoring started only in 1984 and those observed where sex workers. This was
allowed by presidential decree signed by President Ferdinand Marcos.

The 17,948 HIV-Aids cases from 1984 to 2014 is still far from one million, which
represents one per cent of the countrys population, statisticians said.

To get the actual estimated cases, the data should be multiplied by 1,000. Statisticians
says the true and actual estimated HIV-Aids cases in the Philippines from 1984 up to the
first quarter of 2014 is 1.794 million cases. This is almost two per cent of the countrys
population.
HIV-Aids testing is not mandatory, thus it is still illegal to make testing compulsary.

Dr Evelyn Magsayo, sexually transmitted infection prevention control programme officer

of the health department:
o Cases were found high in northern Luzon, the National Capital Region (Metro
Manila), and central Philippines. But all of a sudden, northern Mindanao has
emerged as a new HIV-Aids hot spot because of 30 new cases monitored in the
first quarter of 2014

A 14-year old boy was found with HIV in the region. The oldest was a 70-year old man,
said Magsayo.