Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that in previous years there was only an average of 20 cases reported every month.

"But the average rose to 29 starting 2007," he told the start of a
regional meeting on prevention, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS in
low-prevalence countries.

"Although the Philippines remains a low-prevalence country, it
should not be a reason to be complacent as statistics and trends show
that the number of those infected are on the rise," he added.

According to health department data, there are 3,305 HIV cases in
the Philippines, including 793 AIDS patients, since 1984. Of the 793
full-blown AIDS cases, 310 have already died.

Duque lamented that the "main ingredients" for an AIDS epidemic were already present in the Philippines.

He noted that condom use among high-risk populations, such as sex
workers, remained below the universal access target, while transmission
through homosexual contact has increased.

According to a 2007 survey, only 48 per cent of female sex workers,
27 per cent of injecting drug users and 49 per cent of men having sex
with multiple partners used condoms. (dpa)