Lawmakers seek review of 12-year-old AIDS prevention law

MANILA, Philippines – Amid the reported surge in new HIV cases, lawmakers want to review implementation of the 12-year-old Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act.

LPGMA party-list Rep. Arnel Ty filed House Resolution 724 seeking an inquiry into the alarming increase of HIV cases in the country.

“We have to ascertain whether existing policies and measures under the 1998 law are adequate to suppress the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improve the conditions of Filipinos living with the destructive disease,” Ty said.

“We also have to find out if the mandates of the law are being fulfilled fast enough, and enforced rigorously,” he said.

He noted reports that new HIV cases in the country could hit more than 1,500 this year, nearly double the 835 cases reported in 2009.

A total of 1,305 new HIV cases have already been reported from January to October this year, according to the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry.

Ty cited a prior warning by Dr. Edsel Salvana, a specialist in infectious disease medicine, that the country could have up to 20,000 new HIV cases over the next five years.

At the rate new cases are doubling every year, Salvana said that by 2015, government would have to spend P1 billion annually just to acquire the anti-retroviral drugs needed to treat HIV positive Filipinos.

While AIDS does not have a cure, medications are already available to slow the growth of HIV in a victim’s body, keep the patient’s immune system as strong as possible, and reduce complications due to the disease.

The new HIV cases reported in the 10 months to October brought to 5,729 the total cases listed in the National HIV and AIDS Registry since passive surveillance began in 1984. The registry lists 323 deaths due to AIDS, including two this year.

Meanwhile, Ty asked the House committee on health to look into a United Nations Development Program study, which revealed that one in two AIDS victims in the Philippines suffered discrimination and abuse.

The study showed that six in 10 victims of AIDS in the country were thrown out of work, one in 10 was deprived of a job promotion, while one in 10 was rejected as a residential tenant.

“The results of the study are disturbing, considering we have a tough law protecting HIV positive persons from mistreatment,” Ty said.

Under Republic Act 8504 or the AIDS Prevention and Control Law, he said victims of the disease are protected against “discriminatory acts and policies” in settings such as the workplace, school, and in travel and habitation.

Those found mistreating AIDS sufferers face up to four years in prison and a fine of P10,000, in addition to the revocation of their licenses or permits in the case of institutions or establishments, Ty said. –Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star)