A woman inflates a condom like a balloon during a rally staged Monday at the Department of Health grounds to show support for the stand of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral to encourage the use of prophylactics to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Women’s groups and non-government organizations are backing the stand of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral on reproductive health, particularly in encouraging the use of condom as a way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

A rally supporting the Department of Health (DoH) chief was staged Monday by groups led by the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN) and the Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare Inc. (PNGOC) among others.

“We support Cabral for her support and courage. She is really a doctor by heart,” Dr. Eden Divinagracia, PNGOC executive director said.

The groups hailed Cabral as the only health secretary who stood bravely against the church even after she received criticisms after the DoH distributed condoms at the Dangwa flower market last February.

The DoH has recorded some 126 new HIV cases last December while the figure for the whole 2009 stood at 835.

The Philippine HIV/AIDS registry tallied the number of cases from 1984 to December 2009 and revealed 4,424 HIV cases with most patients belonging to the 20 to 39 years old age group.

“This is because of the inadequacy of programs against HIV/AIDS…She is the only secretary who has stood strong against the Roman Catholic Church and we express our gratitude for that,” a representative from the rallying groups said.

The groups also distributed condoms to drivers of public transportations that passed by the DoH.

“Yes to Secretary Cabral! Yes to condoms!” the groups shouted at the DoH compound in Tayuman, Manila yesterday while a red mascot representing the controversial condom stood in the middle of Cabral’s supporters.

Cabral briefly excused herself from a meeting in her office and personally thanked the groups for supporting the DoH.

“Thank you very much to all of you. You can count on the DoH to protect and promote the health of the Filipinos,” she said.

“The problem of HIV/AIDS is increasing. All of us should do our part to stop this. Our program is summed up in three letters: A for Abstinence, B for Be faithful in our partners and C for correct and consistent use of condom,” Cabral said in a separate interview.

Cabral has earlier announced an HIV/AIDS summit that will be conducted at the end of March and has invited church leaders to attend the event.