Mandaluyong asks call centers to hold AIDS seminars for workers

MANILA, Philippines — Mandaluyong City Mayor Benjamin Abalos on Monday said he has asked call center companies to have their employees undergo lectures on HIV and AIDS.

Abalos said the move is part of their intensified campaign against the spread of HIV and AIDS within the city. The City Government has included the lecture on HIV and AIDS as a requirement for the issuance of worker’s permit.

“I have called all the personnel managers of call centers and told them about this. In fact, what I am worried about are those at the college level. Statistics show that most HIV victims are the youth aged 18 to 28 years old,” he said.

Dr. Camarines Pecos, City Health Officer head, said that in 2010, 206 people in Mandaluyong City were tested for HIV and two individuals were positive.

“In 2007 up to 2009, 289 people were tested and five came out positive. One of those five died of AIDS in 2009. The campaign is effective for encouraging people to voluntarily undergo tests,” Camarines said.

He added that according to the latest data from the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry, HIV infection within the country has risen up to three cases per day compared to two cases daily in 2009.

Abalos has instructed all barangay captains and newly elected members of the Sangguniang Kabataan to focus the HIV-AIDS campaign on the youth within respective areas. –CARLO SUERTE FELIPE, Manila Bulletin