LoveYourself, a non-government organization (NGO), said the arrival of the first batch of life-saving HIV medicines would help ensure uninterrupted treatment for thousands of Filipinos living with HIV (PLHIV), while urging the government to strengthen the country’s procurement and distribution system for HIV commodities.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), the initial batch of 455,188 bottles of Lamivudine+Tenofovir+Dolutegravir (LTD) has been cleared for rollout next week following quality inspection.

The shipment is the first tranche of the 1.2 million HIV commodities procured by the DOH and scheduled to arrive through September, helping ensure a continuous supply of treatment despite global shipping disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis.

LoveYourself said it hopes the arrival of the medicines marks the beginning of a more reliable procurement and distribution system for HIV commodities nationwide.

“Umaasa kami na ito na ang simula ng mas matatag na procurement at distribution system para sa HIV commodities sa buong bansa (We hope this marks the beginning of a stronger procurement and distribution system for HIV commodities across the country),” the NGO said in a statement.

Also, the group urged the government to continue strengthening the country’s HIV supply chain, particularly by prioritizing treatment hubs serving the largest number of patients.

“Sana ay patuloy nating mapabuti ang supply chain at mabigyang prayoridad ang mga hubs na may pinakamalaking bilang ng mga kliyenteng nangangailangan ng serbisyo. Sa LoveYourself pa lamang, halos 15,000 na ang aming mga kliyenteng kasalukuyang nasa treatment (We hope we can continue to strengthen the supply chain and prioritize treatment hubs that serve the largest number of clients in need of services. At LoveYourself alone, nearly 15,000 of our clients are currently on treatment,” it said.

Beyond treatment, LoveYourself also called for increased investments in HIV prevention, including wider access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), HIV testing, HIV self-testing, and other evidence-based preventive services.

LoveYourself thanked the Office of the President for acting on its appeals regarding the shortage of HIV commodities in the country.

“Nais muna naming magpasalamat sa Office of the President sa pakikinig at pag-aksyon sa mga liham at apelang aming ipinadala hinggil sa kakulangan ng HIV commodities sa bansa (We would first like to thank the Office of the President for listening to and acting on the letters and appeals we sent regarding the shortage of HIV commodities in the country),” it said.

Likewise, the organization expressed its appreciation to newly appointed Health Secretary Jose “Brix” Pujalte Jr. for acting swiftly on the issue.

“Maraming salamat din kay DOH Secretary Dr. Brix Pujalte sa mabilis na pag-aksyon sa usaping ito. Nakakaengganyo makita na sa mga unang araw pa lamang ng kanyang panunungkulan ay may agarang pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng ating HIV community (We also thank DOH Secretary Dr. Brix Pujalte for his swift action on this matter. It is encouraging to see that, in the very first days of his tenure, there has already been an immediate response to the needs of our HIV community),”it added.

As such, the organization expressed optimism about working with the new DOH leadership to further strengthen the country’s HIV response.

“Excited kaming makatrabaho ang bagong kalihim ng kalusugan. Marami pa tayong kailangang gawin, pero marami rin tayong pwedeng makamit kung sama-sama tayong kikilos (We are excited to work with the new Health Secretary. There is still much work to be done, but there is also much we can achieve if we work together).”

Earlier, the DOH reported that the Philippines logged 4,277 new HIV cases from October to December 2025.

As of December 2025, the country had recorded a total of 163,454 reported HIV infections since January 1984.