A LAWMAKER has warned government agencies against blacklisting or committing any highly discriminatory acts against persons who are infected with or suspected to be infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome AIDS.
LPGMA party-list Rep. Arnel Ty, member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, underscored that the blacklisting of any person due to his or her actual or perceived condition as an AIDS sufferer is one of the discriminatory acts considered illegal and punishable by law.
Ty cited Section 37 of the AIDS Prevention and Control Act, which states that “The freedom of abode, lodging and travel of a person with HIV shall not be abridged. No person shall be quarantined, put in isolation, or refused lawful entry or deported from Philippine territory on account of his/her actual, perceived or suspected HIV status.”
“The penalties for “discriminatory acts” against persons with HIV status is up to four years in prison, plus a fine of P10,000,” Ty said.
Ty’s warning came shortly after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) temporarily barred a Filipino-Australian theater artist from re-entering the country, on suspicion he is suffering from AIDS.
Marcelino Cavestany complained that upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 6, he was shown a blacklist order, which specified that he should not be allowed entry “as he will spread HIV.
Ty authored a House resolution pushing for a review of the 1998 AIDS Prevention and Control Law to find new ways to reinforce the fight against the highly infectious disease, and improve the living conditions of sufferers.
The lawmaker from Isabela has also been pushing for increased public funding for preventive education, and the conduct of community outreach programs to encourage voluntary and discreet HIV testing. –LLANESCA T. PANTI, Manila Times
Short URL: http://www.manilatimes.net/?p=7366
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
