The AYAT of Ilocanos

written by Edgar Bagasol Jr.

The fast-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country has been alarming. And as an advocate, I have always wanted to initiate something for this cause, especially in my province, Ilocos Norte.

It was a Saturday late evening last October when I finally had the guts to invite Jurgen Rapacon, a nurse and a fellow advocate, to start an HIV cause in Ilocos Norte. I first met Jurgen in a virtual orientation organized by another HIV-focused group here in Manila on that same day and the moment I knew that he is an Ilocano, I immediately looked for him on social media and prepared my speech. I was actually quite hesitant to connect with him at first because of his background but, I’d say now, pushing that send button is one of the things that I will always be grateful for in my life. That invitation I sent him that night has now turned into something transformative and meaningful.

In November 2020, the AYAT advocacy was born.

The AYAT advocacy is my vision. Since I graduated from college, I have always wanted to lead an HIV-related cause in my home province where HIV cases are still low in numbers, but so is the level of Ilocano’s awareness about HIV; it’s almost a strange topic for them. And Jurgen can attest to this saying that most Ilocanos, if not all, are still very conservative and that conversations about sex and anything related to it, including HIV, are still a taboo and highly stigmatized.

Our conversations went on for days and even weeks, discussing about what something we could do to increase the Ilocanos’ awareness on HIV and normalize sex conversations while considering the Ilocano’s religious orthodoxy. We were hesitant to introduce beliefs and behaviors that may sound intrusive or imposing for them given the fact that not many programs have been implemented about HIV specifically in Ilocos. We reflected as we conversed and finally in November, we arrived at a common ground: Love. We both agreed that by sharing the value of love, we will be able to empower our fellow Ilocanos with the right knowledge and attitude towards taking care of oneself, and by extension, protecting oneself from HIV.

From then on, we started gathering more Ilocano advocates, engaging them to our conversations; unpacking their opinions about the sex culture in Ilocos, as well as with their insights on the strategies on how we can effectively communicate our cause to the people without sounding too combative to Ilocano’s conservative beliefs. Grounded from these shared conversations and reflections, we agreed to call our group, the AYAT advocacy. An Ilocano term for love, “AYAT” stands for Advocates Yearning for an Ardent and Transformative HIV advocacy in Ilocos.

Our vision, mission, and strategies

Initiated as an HIV awareness and support group, AYAT advocacy envisions championing self and community empowerment in Ilocos by embracing the values of love and equity. By mobilizing a community of ardent advocates, we strive to realize this vision through these strategies:

1. Community outreach - Utilize our capacities and resources to conduct HIV education drives and provide other sexual health services, including but not limited to, HIV prevention, testing and counseling, and linkage to care.

2. Digital campaigns - Maximize social media platforms to spark awareness on HIV/AIDS and facilitate discourse to address stigma and discrimination against affected individuals.

3. Building capacities - Capacitate individuals on leadership, technical, creative and life skills as a way of empowering the self and the community.

4. Shared advocacy - Explore opportunities for networking and partnerships with key stakeholders, including government institutions, international and private groups, medical and civil societies, and people’s organizations to ensure optimum impact in the communities we mutually serve.

5. Care and support - Serve as a safe space for everyone, especially for people living with HIV, by fostering inclusivity, embracing sex positivity, and providing psychosocial support.

These strategies are also grounded from our shared core values: ayat (love), gagar (passion), and panagkaykaysa (unity). Love drives our passion for the advocacy and unity to transform stigmatizing notions about HIV and sex, combat discrimination towards people affected by it, and make Ilocos free from HIV by imparting people the right knowledge and preventive practices against the virus.

Ardent Ilocano youth heed the call

When we started AYAT, we did not expect things to go smoothly, yet the number of people who see the same vision as us, increased drastically. From just me and Jurgen, we are now joined by over 50 Ilocano advocates coming from different fields, helping us achieve our shared vision and goals. We’ve gathered these advocates from the two virtual orientations that we conducted in the past four months.

Besides this great number, what really inspires us is the fact that most of our advocates are youth and many of them have been proactive in leading our community. In Ilocos, the youth aged 15-24 who engage in casual and transactional sex, are deemed to be the most vulnerable sector to HIV based on the latest numbers of the province. According to Jurgen, the lack of awareness drives and limitations of facilities offering HIV and other sexual health related programs and services in the province greatly contribute to this observation.

That said, Ilocano youth leaders including Rogie Balino, Juan Carlo Florano, and JC Finale Siazon, among others heed the call to lead our advocacy. These ardent advocates have been proactive in forwarding our causes, leading the conduct of our online campaigns, and encouraging their fellow youth to join our cause. They have also been taking charge in connecting with organizations advocating causes like LGBT rights and mental health; trying to marry these advocacies and making them more holistic and responsive to the current needs of the people that we cater, especially during this time of crisis.

What we’ve done so far

Due to the ongoing confinement, most of our activities so far in the AYAT advocacy are held online.

One of our feature activities is our “LABLOVE” episodes. Derived from an Ilocano term “lablab,” which means to talk/ to be talkative, LABLOVE is an online talk show wherein our members are engaged in open conversations about love, sex, and many other topics. To date, we’ve already hosted three episodes covering topics on SOGIE awareness, HIV 101 orientation, and advice on relationships. After every episode, we also release a series of infographics summarizing what we’ve talked about.

This love month, we have also released an HIV prevention campaign called “#LoveSafely.” This campaign featured different HIV prevention strategies, including HIV education, use of condoms, PrEP and PEP, and encouraging people living with HIV to adhere to their treatment to achieve undetectable status and subsequently help prevent possible HIV transmission. This campaign is complemented with a regular video posting dubbed “AYAT ti Ilocano,” (Love of Ilocanos) featuring quotes that encourage love for oneself and for others.

Organizing these online activities and campaigns have been a challenge for us since we have not yet met personally as a group. The proactive engagement of our youth lead advocates however has been key in the conduct and success of these online activities.

What’s next for AYAT?

I’m still overwhelmed with how fast we’ve been growing as a community. And considering the limitations posed by the ongoing pandemic, I’m also still in awe realizing what we’ve done so far; first in establishing our presence as a community, and second in successfully conducting online activities and campaigns to forward our cause. To date, we are now reaching over 1,000 people on social media, hoping that most of this reach are our target stakeholders---Ilocanos.

I believe that Jurgen and I were meant to meet that day. If it was not for the invitation I sent him that night, our advocacy would not have existed. But ultimately, if it not for the Ilocano advocates who are yearning with us to forward a progressive love and sex culture in Ilocos, our family and advocacy would not have flourished the way it is now.

What’s next for us? Well, besides enriching our online presence through continuous activities and campaigns, what we really want for now is to keep this family growing and try reaching more Ilocanos and make them aware about the importance of our cause. Jurgen and I, together with our youth lead advocates, can only do so much so we need more hands and minds to help.

Numbers-wise, we recognize that HIV is still not much of a concern in Ilocos as compared to other cities and provinces in the country, but do we have to wait for numbers to surge before we actually act on it? Should we keep ignoring the fact that sex culture in Ilocos has been problematic and the number of facilities where people can access sexual health services and opportunities to learn about sexual health are very limited? Simple answer is a resounding NO. Ilocanos are resilient and resourceful, so is AYAT advocacy. AYAT advocacy will help Ilocanos cope from the HIV epidemic and equip them with the right knowledge and behaviors to face any threats to our overall health.

To know more about our cause, visit and follow our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AYATadvocacy or you may join in our growing community through our Facebook group: AYAT advocacy (https://www.facebook.com/groups/760126791240304).