MANILA, Philippines – Owie (not his real name) was looking forward to a good life working as a private waiter in Saudi Arabia.
But when he was diagnosed of having the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV, he not only lost his job. He even faced arrest, quarantined in the hospital for two weeks.
Owie is one of several overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were deported for carrying the virus. Countries in the Middle East are notorious for deporting workers diagnosed with HIV.
So when Owie found out about the Department of Health’s (DOH) plan to make HIV testing mandatory, Owie was enraged.
After all, he didn’t want to experience the same discrimination again, not the least in his own country.
“Na-experience ko na (‘yung discriminasyon). Kaya ba ng gobyerno na tulungan ‘yung mga nagpositibo sa HIV? (I’ve experienced the discrimination. Can the government help those who tested positive?)” Owie asked
He also said the DOH’s plan stereotypes the gay community as spreading the HIV.
“(The DOH) saw that HIV cases is high among men having sex with men…. It’s as if since I’m gay, I need to be tested,” Owie, who is openly gay, said in Filipino.
The Philippines is one of the top countries with the fastest growing HIV cases in the world, according to a United Nations study in 2012.
As of March this year, the DOH has recorded 17,948 HIV cases, from just two in 1984, when the agency first started its tally. A bulk or 93 percent of these were spread through sexual contact. About half or 45 percent of cases were through gay sex.
‘Witch hunt’
A group of HIV rights activists planned to file charges against the DOH if it pushes through with the mandatory HIV testing plan.
Mara Bondad, executive director for Action for Health Initiatives, called the DOH’s plan a “witch hunt” on people already faced with the stigma of having the virus.
She added that the DOH should instead provide better services for Filipinos living with HIV.
“We don’t have to go to a witch hunt. We just have to provide services and people will come out,” Bondad said.
Drew (not his real name) added that the DOH should instead address the shortage of medication in HIV treatment hubs, a problem he has documented from reports of their online community REDx.
Drew also said that community-led testing was proven more effective than making it mandatory.
Dr. RV Cruz of the Quezon City health department added that mandatory HIV testing is illegal since it goes against Republic Act 8504 or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act.
Reached for their comment, DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy clarified that their plan to make HIV testing mandatory is “not for all.”
He said the testing would only be mandatory as routine examinations before surgery, blood and urine tests, ECG, X-ray, among others.
“These patients will undergo a procedure and we have to make sure that they are fit enough for the operation. If found positive, the physician may need to add some additional medications for these patients,” Lee Suy said.
The DOH official said they do not mean to launch a “witch hunt” on Filipinos living with HIV.
“All that we want to do is to identify the HIV cases and help them live a productive life,” Lee Suy said.
The health department is in talks with lawmakers to lobby for the amendment of RA 8504.
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