Old LY Site

By Ryan De Torres LoveYourself volunteers who watched the pilot run of PETA's Under My Skin last February 7. HIV cases in the country are increasing. What aggravates the situation is the lack of awareness, knowledge, and education of people across different ages, SOGIEs, socioeconomic statuses, religions, education, and professions. This already unfortunate situation has worsened by misinformation, stigmatization, and discrimination, hindering people from accessing free and available HIV services in the country. Thankfully, the Philippine Educational Theater Association's (PETA) latest offering, Under My Skin, debunked most of these misconceptions, encouraging the people to take charge of their sexual health. PETA's Under My Skin is one of the most unique plays I have ever watched. I am impressed by playwright Rody Vera for his research input with all the nitty-gritty details about HIV. Vera must have gone through a lot of painstaking research on HIV - the current situation...

By Asha Gutierrez With the aid of LoveYourself, T he Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in its 52nd Theater Season responds to the ongoing HIV epidemic in the Philippines by launching the #ActingOnHIV campaign with Rody Vera’s anthology drama Under My Skin , directed by Melvin Lee, as the frontliner. Together with LoveYourself, its long-time advocacy partner, The Red Whistle, also support this movement in the theater community. The #ActingOnHIV campaign reaches out to audiences through art, as an immersive experience that promotes the importance of HIV treatment while debunking myths and misconceptions about the virus. It focuses on the empowerment of Persons Living With HIV through workshops, exhibits, an online EduSeries, and learning outcomes with HIV experts back-to-back with every show of Under My Skin, the campaign serves to not only enamour, but to educate as well. The play features authentic characters whose struggles the audience can resonate with even they do ...

By Ronald Bugarin All the world’s a stage and you are the performers!  The stage is set for the National HIV Testing Day themed KYS (Know Your Status) and Play in partnership with Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) on November 23, 2019 from 11:00am to 7:00pm. LoveYourself has joined forces with more than ten (10) Community Based Organizations (CBOs) nationwide for you to experience fast , free , and confidential HIV testing in a fraction of the time. Sign up now for a fast, free and anonymous HIV screening. #KYSandPlay marks the eighth community-led multi-site  National HIV testing event spearheaded by LoveYourself, beginning with Incognito in May 2016. This is part of LoveYourself's efforts to make HIV screening easier and more accessible to more Filipinos,  together with other CBO’s in the nation. By promoting timely HIV testing as a regular part of one’s self-care routine , more Filipinos can take charge of their sexual health. This National H...

By LoveYourself Communications MANILA – In celebration of the World AIDS Day on December 1, LoveYourself, Inc. and the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), together with 10 community-based organizations nationwide, will conduct a national HIV testing day on November 23, 2019. Dubbed as “Know Your Status (KYS) and Play or #KYSandPlay2019, this national HIV testing day entails a free, fast and confidential HIV test at 19 test locations nationwide for registrants to this link: bit.ly/KYSandPlay2019 .  This collaboration with PETA aims to strengthen the awareness campaigns of community-based organizations through highlighting the #ActingOnHIV drive of the theater institution. Theater performers are the primary ambassadors for the #KYSandPlay2019, namely: Topper Fabregas, Jimi Marquez, Gio Gahol, Gerhard Krysstopher, Iji Ampil, Eko Baquial, Chamyto Aguedan, Bene Manaois, Dylan Talon, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo, Lygie Carillo, Cheeno Macaraig, Carlon Josol, Mico Esquivel, Miguel Al...

By Ronald Bugarin Are you ready to take on one of the most critically acclaimed roles in your life? No costumes, no scripts—just yourself, a test kit, and at least 15 minutes of self-care realness. LoveYourself partners with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) to bring you  #KYSandPlay National HIV Testing Day  on Saturday, November 23, 2019 across LoveYourself community centers and participating community-based organizations nationwide. Talented and multi-awarded actors from PETA will take a break from singing and acting as they step on the role of being HIV testing ambassadors, helping out in shining the spotlight on how important it is to Know Your Status (KYS), as well as promoting HIV awareness through education and counseling.  This event carries on the success of the Hot Nurses of ‘Pinas nationwide testing event held in June of this year, where over 600 clients experienced free and confidential HIV screening and counseling nationwide. The effic...

By Kris Tangco Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are one of the groups vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS crisis the Philippines is facing. Addressing the plight of OFWs by highlighting and bringing awareness to their struggles, HIV awareness and advocacy group LoveYourself, in partnership with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) will be staging Care Divas , a play about the lives of five transgender OFWs. Background on OFWs The Filipino diaspora has brought an estimated total of 10.4 million ethnic Filipinos to seek opportunities abroad, roughly 2.3 million of which are OFWs [ 1 ] . As of 2015, OFW remittances sent home by Filipinos abroad amounted to almost 30 billion US Dollars [ 2 ] , representing around more than 10% of the national economy. The Philippines is one of the world’s largest suppliers of human labor - in fact, the country is a pioneer in organized labor migration [ 3 ] . Deployment of Filipinos abroad started during the Martial Law years when legislation forma...