From the research of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) more gay and bisexual call center workers are suffering from HIV because of unguarded sex. But health experts like Dr. Eric Tayag, chief of the Department of Health's National Epidemiology Center, proved that the data are uncertain to justify that study. PGH stated that free rapid HIV tests are done to 406 male respondents from November 2009 to January of this year. The respondents are seen at gimmick hotspots in Metro Manila but their ages or locations were not determined. From the respondents, 385 of them revealed their occupation and 130 were MSM call center agents and 48 or 12% of respondents were carriers of human immuno-deficiency virus. They are consisting of men who have contacts with same men (MSM) like, bisexual males, call boys or sex workers. Most gay and bisexuals are now infected with HIV. But only some have themselves tested. That is why the team of Dr. Louie Mar Gangcuangco, an internal medicine intern at the PGH, visited them and administer HIV tests. Dr. Tayag stated that call center agents must have a procedure to alert other health organization to help them solve the problem.

Kailangan maproteksyonan natin ang mga kabataan. At ang paraan ng DOH para maproteksyunan, malaman kung ano 'yong risk na kinsasangkutan nila. Kasi kung hindi natin alam kung ano nangyayari, ang hirap maglagay ng programa, Tayag added.

PGH stated the 3 main risk factors that contribute to the spread of HIV among MSMs particularly in call centers:

• financial empowerment or having money to go out to parties or gimmick
• little or no condom use
• the habit of switching from one sexual partner to another (the study found out that each call center agent had16 casual sex partners)

In a BPO industry, Filipino workers earned $7.5 billion in 2009. Humphrey, a former call center agent, said that there is no relation between call center work and the increase of HIV cases. National Epidemiology Center and the United Nations Development Programme data in 2009 stated that HIV multiplies in the Philippines at the speed of 3 people per day. The virus is being transmitted through needles used for medicine and the virus will transferred by the mother to her child. [via abs-cbnnews.com]