MEDICAL OBSERVER, Probe Team Top 2004 AIDS Media Awards
Thy Condo[o]m Come," a feature story that appeared in the May 2004 issue of MEDICAL OBSERVER, won first prize in the print category of the 2004 AIDS Media Awards, held at the Philippine International Convention Center in late November. Written by associate-editor Paul de Guzman, the story bested 23 other entries from magazines and newspapers from all over the country.
The feature story discussed the results of a study called Unprotected: Sex, Condoms, and the Human Right to Health, which was released in May this year by the United States-based Human Rights Watch. The HRW report covered all the factors that threaten to transform the country's "low and slow" HIV/AIDS situation into a full-blown epidemic--religious (particularly) Catholic opposition to condoms both as a contraceptive device and a means to prevent the transmission of HIV, the low priority the government gives to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the persistence of misinformation on the virus and the disease.
Given by the AIDS Society of the Philippines, the AIDS Media Awards aim to honor "correct and sensitive reporting on HIV/AIDS" in print, radio, and television. In addition, the Awards are given out to raise the public's awareness of HIV/AIDS issues. This year, awards were also given to television and movie scripts that tackled the disease.
Also a big winner was The Probe Team, which won the first prize for TV for its feature entitled "Ligtas Ka Ba Sa AIDS?" Meanwhile, 93.9 DWRD Legazpi won for the "news feature in radio" category, and Justin Julius Ayran of Grupong Tinta won for the "scriptwriting for TV/film" category.
In the print category, "A... B... K... D... HIV (Kalbaryo ng mga AIDS Orphans)" by Ana Marie Tiangco of People's Taliba placed second, while "Gambling for Survival" by Aries Rufo of Newsbreak magazine placed third. Other second-place winners were Marino
Hawa by Bernadette Sembrano (ABS-CBN) for TV news, DWPE Radyo ng Bayan Tuguegarao for radio news, and
Kung Sino Man ang Makabasa by Audie A. Gonzales of Grupong Tinta for script. Third-place winners were Aids
Laganap na, Kailan pa Kikilos by Cesar Seneta of Net-25 for TV news, Ma. Fe Nicodemus of Radyo ng Pilipinas for radio news, and
Lumang Tsubibo by Juancho Oriondo of Grupong Tinta for script.
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