Manila, June 4 -- Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday backs the Department of Health's (DOH) call to declare a national public health emergency the surge in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases.

This, after the health department reported a 500 percent surge in cases among Filipinos aged 15 to 25 in the first quarter this year.

Latest HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report showed there are 148,831 HIV cases recorded nationwide from 1984 to March this year.

A total of 5,101 cases were logged during the first quarter of this year, higher than the 3,409 recorded during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, an average of 57 HIV cases were reported daily, also higher than the 37 recorded during the same period last year.

These include the case of...