Reproductive health advocates -- including women representing various organizations, people living with HIV/AIDS and representatives of non-government organizations and civil society groups – are scheduled to gather Monday in a rally at the Department of Health (DoH) in support of the agency’s move to curb the increasing HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

Those expected to attend the event include representatives from the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP), Health Action and Information Network (HAIN), Forum for Family Planning and Development (FORUM), Linangan ng mga Kababaihan (LIKHAAN), Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) and the Philippine NGO Council (PNGOC).

“The activity aims to show broad and strong support of the reproductive health community to DoH Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral and the DoH in their HIV and AIDS public awareness campaign and disappointment over the intervention of some Catholic leaders and government officials on the campaign,” the groups said in a joint statement.

Last Feb. 14, the health department distributed condoms at the Dangwa flower market to address the growing HIV/AIDS menace in the country.

The activity drew flak mainly from church leaders.

Cabral has repeatedly said the condoms were not meant to promote artificial birth control but to curb the increasing HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

The health chief also said in a previous interview that the DoH still adheres to the government policy that prohibits the procurement of contraceptives. The condoms that were handed out at the Dangwa flower market were donations, she said.