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By Rome Jorge, Lifestyle Editor
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Rico Blanco plays
acoustic
for HIV awareness
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It doesn’t get any bigger than this.
Stage dives, crowd surfing, condom balloon
volleyball, tens of thousands chanting along and waving lighters,
glow-sticks and mobile phones in the air. Your musical idols doing
all the flashy rock star moves—showmanship worthy of this stadium
rock event that you’ll never ever see in Manila’s cramped bar
gigs. More than 36 of the country’s biggest rock acts one after
another on a giant stage, jamming with rock legends for some
unforgettable music moments.
All that you cant expect at the 2008 MTV Staying
Alive Music Summit on December 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert
Grounds. Gates open at 3 p.m. Pre-show begins at 4 p.m. Main show
begins at 6 p.m.
Bands include Bamboo, Callalily, Chicosci,
Grayhoundz, Hale, Imago, The Itchyworms, Kamikazee, Kitchie Nadal,
Kjwan, Markus Highway, Moonstar88, The Out of Body Specials,
Overtone, Paraluman, Paramita, Parokya ni Edgar, Pedicab, Pupil,
Radioactive Sago Project, 6cyclemind, Rivermaya, Sandwich,
Sessionroad, Silent Sanctuary, Sinosikat, Slapshock, Soapdish,
Spongecola, Sugarfree, Taken by Cars, Typecast, Up Dharma Down,
Urbandub and Wolfgang.
Rico Blanco attests, “It’s a thrill
performing on stage in front of crowds as big as the ones that they
have every year. You can’t put it to words. You are swallowed by
the music, the energy and the love going back and forth.” He
remembers his most memorable Music Summit experience: “I really
enjoy it every year. The one time we were out of the country during
the Music Summit was the time we played for the MTV Music Summit in
Indonesia. It was such a thrill to be representing the Philippines
in this cause.”
The Music Summit is more than a must-experience
spectacle guaranteed to rock your socks off or a proven success for
the last five years. It’s an event for a struggle that is deadly
serious.
Celebrating World Aids Day (that falls on
December 1), the MTV Music Summit raises awareness about the deadly
disease among today’s youth using a medium that readily connects
to them—rock music.
After more than two decades since its discovery
in 1981, there is still no known cure or vaccine for Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the sexually transmitted disease caused
by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that destroys one’s
ability to resist even the most common infection. It can be
prevented. But because of resistance to sex education and
contraception, today’s youths are more vulnerable than ever.
The lack of sex education in the Philippines as
maintained by the Catholic Church and regime of President Gloria
Arroyo and the abstinence-only policy as pursued by the Bush
administration in the US have both proven to be failures.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme
for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), almost 1 out of 5 people living with HIV in
the Philippines are 15 to 24 years old as of September 2008. Every
15 seconds a young person between 15 and 24 is infected with HIV
somewhere in the world. And yet ignorance about AIDS, HIV, safe sex
and contraception grows.
Even Blanco confesses, “When it first started,
I first thought it wouldn’t happen to anyone we know. But my
awareness of the situation has grown over the years.” Sadly, many
youths today do not share Blanco’s heightened consciousness.
Almost 30 percent of our youth think that AIDS
is curable. (Misconceptions include: that antibiotics or taking a
bath can prevent it or that one can tell if someone has the
disease.) More and more children are sexually active at a younger
age. As for their first sexual encounter, the average age is 17 for
men, 18 for women. What is alarming is the rapid increase in the
percentage of children who have had their first sexual experience
below 15 years old—16 percent in 2002. In 1994 that was only 2
percent. This are the results of the Young Adults Fertility and
Sexuality Study conducted by the University of the Philippines
Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development
Foundation in 2002.
Clearly, the status quo of ignorance as
maintained by the Church, conservative leaders and government is a
failure.
Tereita Bagasao, country coordinator of UNAIDS,
attests to the changes wrought since the MTV Music Summit: “Since
the summit began, there has been changes globally. Younger people
are getting more involved.”
But the appeal to the youth is but part of
UNAIDS’ “bibingka [rice cake] strategy”—applying heat both
from the bottom up and from the top down. In conjunction with
creating a clamor for more information and awareness among the
youth, UNAIDS together with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
has persisted in persuading government in providing education and
access to contraceptives. It’s time to light a fire under those
people above who refuse to budge with smoldering rock ‘n roll.
“Sa ngalang ng katotohanan, lumiyab ka [In the
name of the truth, burn bright].”—Yugto by Rico Blanco
For details, visit www.unaids.org,
www.unaids.blogspot.com and www.mtvphil.com.
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