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Saturday, September 03, 2005
Lawmakers open to making HIV screening compulsory
The debate on whether HIV testing should remain voluntary or not is still ongoing, but some lawmakers agree it is time to amend the law that seeks to prevent Aids in the country.
According to Rep. Mario Aguja (party-list, Akbayan), the discussion remains “open” to mandatory testing to spot the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), although some representatives still think it violates human rights.
After testing, funding is the most debated issue whenever lawmakers speak of the need to amend Republic Act 8504, or the Aids and Prevention Control Act of 1998.
That law, said Aguja, has fallen below expectations.
“I believe the pork barrel of congressmen should be abolished,” Aguja said in a forum yesterday.
“This P40 million or more that every member of Congress gets should be appropriated for the most important programs in the country, such as health, education and agriculture.”
Budget
The Philippine National Aids Council (PNAC), the policy-making body for HIV/Aids issues, only has a budget of P9.5 million each year.
Agencies that are supposed to help prevent Aids, like the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Health (DOH), among others, do not even have specific HIV/Aids program allocations, Aguja said.
One problem with voluntary testing is that the real number of persons with HIV/Aids cannot be accounted for.
The 2,314 HIV cases reported from 1982 to July this year is just the “tip of the iceberg,” delegates were told yesterday at the forum, “HIV/Aids: Hidden and growing.”
Exceptions
The forum, organized by PNAC, DOH 7 and the House of Representatives, was also a public hearing on whether RA 8504 should be amended or not.
It guarantees the right to privacy of persons with HIV/Aids and provides that compulsory HIV testing is unlawful, “unless otherwise provided by law.”
However, the court may require HIV testing for suspects in rape or seduction cases and couples seeking annulment of their marriage.
Potential blood or organ donors also need to undergo HIV screening.
Participants of the forum included representatives from the local governments of Regions 6, 7 and 8; NGOs implementing HIV/AIDS programs; the church, represented by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines; the media, represented by the Media Advocates for reproductive Health Empowerment; and the youth, with Youth Zone.
Each representative got a chance to present their programs on how to curb HIV/Aids, which has no known cure. (JGA)
(September 3, 2005 issue)
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