CLOSE to 500 individuals engaged in transactional sex acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the last quarter of 2025.
The October-December 2025 HIV Surveillance of the Philippines report said 486 newly diagnosed HIV cases engaged in transactional sex within the past 12 months.
"People engaging in transactional sex includes all individuals, who reported having either accepted payment, paid for sex, or done both in the form of money or in kind in the past 12 months," the DOH said.
The DOH said 235 males paid for sex. Another 171 cases involved individuals who accepted payment for sex, including 162 males and nine females.
The DOH said 80 people living with HIV engaged in both paying for and accepting payment for sex, including 77 males and three females.
Since the reporting of transactional sex began in December 2012, the DOH said a total of 18,275 cases have been reported. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)