Proposed new AIDS law encourages victims to reveal health to partners

By TUCP
March 4, 2014

QUEZON CITY – In revising the new provisions of the 1998 AIDS law, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is in favor of encouraging People Living with HIV (PLHIV) to reveal health condition, with the aid of a counselor, to their partners before having sexual contact to thwart the spread of the disease.

“The new law on AIDS should center on the victims. It should create a non-punitive environment for them if we are to mitigate the spread of the disease. By creating this type of an enabling environment, we are encouraging the victims to reveal their health condition to their partners at the first instance they discover they have infection. With the help of a counselor, HIV/AIDS victims can reveal their health condition without encumbering themselves too much,” said Gerard R. Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).

In the discussions at the House of Representatives in amending the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, some groups suggest criminal liability on victims for not divulging their health predicament to partners.

Section 34 of the Act is saying “any person with HIV is obliged to discuss his/her HIV status and health condition to his/her sexual partner at the earliest opportune time.”

The TUCP and non-government organizations including advocacy groups led by PLHIV are for amending this provision to: “any person who, after having been tested, is found to be infected with HIV, is strongly encouraged to disclose this health condition to the spouse or sexual partner prior to engaging in penetrative sex or any potential exposure to HIV and that a PLHIV may opt to seek help from qualified professionals including medical professionals, health workers, peer educators, or social workers when disclosing this health condition to one’s partner or spouse.”

TUCP considers as “too harsh” some groups’ argument that PLHIV must be punished for not revealing to their spouse or sexual partner that they have the infection.

“We thoroughly understand the difficulty and the dilemma of victims in revealing their health condition to their partner and to their family. With this new law, we want the victims to open up and not shut themselves out so that the right help can be applied,” Seno added.

Recent records of the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health showed the government is recording one case of HIV/AIDS every one hour and forty minutes with more men having sex with men.

In a January 2014 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry Report, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 448 new cases for the month or 18% higher compared to the 380 cases reported in the same period last year. Of the 448 new cases, 57 have progressed into full-blown AIDS cases.