For the longest time, the Philippines has been haunted by unsettling stories. We’ve all been familiar with folklore and urban legends about contaminated needles in dark movie theatres and other frightening tales that lurk in the shadows. Before everything else, there was an underlying shame. Of the many topics that are glossed over and misconstrued, the discussion about human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was one that our country is unprepared to have.
HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, while AIDS is in HIV’s late stage. A person can contract HIV through sexual intercourse, unsterilized needles, and blood transfusions, not through physical contact like kissing. With an alarming 418% increase in new infections and a 535% increase in AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2022, the Department of Health (DOH) reported at least 55 individuals are diagnosed daily with HIV as of March 2024.
We look at the statistics and absorb the facts. Yet, we forget that behind these numbers and murmurs are genuine stories and lived experiences of people who are too frequently stigmatized before being listened to.
“Oh, bantay mo sa mga bayot kay baka magka-HIV mo. Kung di mo gusto matakdan, ayaw mog patol sa ilaha.”
Even when people know about how HIV is transmitted, stigma persists, as moral judgment, disregard, and marginalization dehumanize individuals and justify discrimination and isolation. There is no excuse to abandon, ignore, and bear social prejudice against the people who have been afflicted with this disease, especially in a country that continues to be misinformed and blinded by archaic norms.
The Philippines has enacted two major laws to address HIV/AIDS: RA 8504 (Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998) and RA 11166 (Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act of 2018). If we were to review RA 8504, it is weakly enforced, with inconsistent implementation of educational programs such as the School-Based HIV and AIDS Education Program (DO 47 s. 2012) and tertiary-level initiatives under CHED Memorandum Order 16 Series of 2000 because of limited budget allocation for workshops and insufficient teacher training, making them feel unprepared to deliver proper sex education.
While RA 11166 strengthened the knowledge of HIV and AIDS and expanded testing access, it had problems, such as limited resources for prevention and treatment, the law’s unclear provisions for minors accessing treatment independently that create barriers for young people who may not have parental support, reliance on school administrators for education program which leads to inconsistent implementation due to other school priorities, and slow judicial processes for cases of stigma and marginalization, which leaves victims without timely response.
A chasm separates the vision of policymakers and the realities faced by those on the ground. Civic organizations dedicated to supporting people living with HIV/AIDS are often left scrambling for resources because laws fail to bridge the gap between policy and practical needs. Policymakers frequently miss the underlying drivers of the epidemic, resulting in a misalignment between intent and action. This disconnect hampers the delivery of services, perpetuates stigma, and entangles efforts to tackle the escalating HIV/AIDS crisis in the Philippines.
We need systemic change in combating HIV effectively, including doing destigmatized HIV testing to ensure individuals feel safe, important, and included. The government should also utilize RA 10354 (The Reproductive Health Law) to provide comprehensive sex education in schools and communities, equipping individuals with knowledge about the consequences of their actions and normalizing discussions about sex that spark lengthy lectures about moral decline whenever it is mentioned.
Ultimately, it is with hope that this law will mark the beginning of a more compassionate society where an individual diagnosed with HIV is accepted by people with empathy, not judgment. Acknowledging the need for change in our laws is putting solutions forward.
