Let Us BLOW Harder

AIDS Chief and Health Sec. Enrique Ona jeered by HIV and AIDS activists and people living with HIV and AIDS
by Jonas Bagas on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 11:01am


Health Secretary and AIDS Chief Enrique Ona was booed and jeered at the Plenary Meeting of the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) yesterday, December 2, 2011, after he practically endorsed a witch hunt of ‘homosexuals’ as an HIV testing strategy to address the growing HIV epidemic in the Philippines. (See video

Around 30 HIV and AIDS activists from organizations belonging to the Network to Stop HIV and AIDS in the Philippines (NSAP) jeered Ona and blew their red whistles, demanding that Ona exercise political leadership as chair of PNAC.

In reaction to the growing infection among men who have sex with men and transgenders in the Philippines, Sec. Ona proposed that the government’s interventions must be targeted, suggesting that parents should be contacted and asked if they have homosexual children and be told about their children’s ‘problem’.

He proposed the same strategy for 'drug addicts'.

His proposal, premised on the flawed notion that informed consent is a hindrance to an effective and targeted response to the epidemic, reflects a complete rejection of evidence-informed and human rights-based strategies that are stipulated the Philippines AIDS Medium Term Plan and endorsed by the World Health Organization.

PNAC was discussing the adoption of the UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS when Sec. Ona raised his stigmatising proposal. Ironically, the Declaration itself strongly opposes stigmatizing and discriminatory interventions towards key populations like men who have sex with men and transgenders, drug users, and sex workers.

During the plenary meeting, the issue of the funding cut due to the Global Fund cancellation was likewise raised. In the past years, the Global Fund accounted for 60% of the total AIDS spending in the country. NSAP earlier warned that the funding cut would lead to the downscaling of at least 50% of prevention, treatment, care and support services.

Sec. Ona reiterated his position that the current amount of spending by the national government is enough, despite reports that attribute the rising HIV infections to the insufficiency of HIV services. He said that to make the response more effective, it has to be more targeted, thus the proposal to utilize parents to identify and reach these key affected populations.

He said that the funding gap that the Global Fund would leave behind should be covered by local governments. When asked about the counterpart from the national government, he just ‘noted’ the inquiry, indicating his unwillingness to invest on HIV and AIDS services. He likewise compared AIDS with other non-communicable diseases like renal diseases and simply brushed aside recommendations for bigger public spending from the national government on HIV and AIDS.

NSAP’s member-organizations are pushing for the establishment of an Emergency Fund for HIV and AIDS to prevent the cutting down of HIV and AIDS services that have become all the more important due to the growing epidemic. From January to October 2011, the Philippines has reported 1,869 new cases of HIV, overtaking the total figure for 2010, which was 1,591. The Philippines is one of the only seven countries worldwide that failed to halt or slowdown new HIV infections. The network also called for the creation of a Special Task Force on HIV and AIDS to address the gap in the political leadership.

Postscript: Last time I checked were in 21'st Century Philippines not 1600's SALEM.... This is so sad.