AIDS in the city

Punto Central Luzon

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

AIDS in the city

I simply don’t know if it is afflicted with HIV or if it is already on its terminal stage but it seems to be malfunctioning in the past seven years.

Three years ago, I thought the Angeles City AIDS Council (ACAC) was on its “worst” under the leadership of Dr. Tess Esguerra, the former chief of the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC),formerly Social Hygiene Clinic.

But I was wrong.

Two weeks ago, I visited the RHWC in Barangay Balibago where more than 4,000 bar workers and entertainers undergo weekly smear (gram staining) tests.

The same problems seven years ago still persist. Out of the 9,600 plus registered entertainers (bar girls, guest relation officers, dancers), the RHWC could only accommodate around 4,400. Thus, around 5,000 of them do not undergo smear tests every week. This means that 5,000 could all be possible carriers of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
From 1985 to 1993, 23 HIV positive cases in Angeles City were recorded. Then from 1994 to 2007 another 53 more cases were recorded based on the HIV Serologic Surveillance System conducted every year.
This year, at least two more cases were recorded from January to March. Thus, from 1985 to the first quarter of 2008, a total of 78 cases were recorded.
Before the ordinance was enacted, efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Angeles City were simpler, focused, concrete and even better.

In fact, even though the city has no funds for it, stakeholders rely on the programs of non-government organizations like Angeles University Foundation, Pearl S. Buck International, and Reach-Out Foundation, all funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the leadership of Mr. Dexter Garcia, we as policy advocacy coordinators established linkages and networks, persuaded every sector in the community to support HIV/AIDS prevention programs. We sponsored and organized symposia, seminars and forums for bar owners, media practitioners, government officials, businessmen and floor managers. The late Ody Fabian, a veteran journalist, helped us in educating the public about basic facts on HIV/AIDS/STI and how to prevent it.

On August 30, 2000, the ordinance was unanimously approved at the city council. Thanks to former Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Rosever Pascua, Councilor Willy Rivera, former councilors Irineo “Bong” Alvaro, Romeo Taruc, Atty. Efren Galang, Susan Pineda (who reportedly refuses to use her husband’s surname), and Councilors Rudy Simeon and Dan Lacson.

Only one councilor abstained – Alex Cauguiran, who is now the executive vice president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC). But the points that he raised during that city council session have helped us improve the whole program. The HIV/AIDS ordinance, the first to be passed in the Philippines, was adapted by other cities like General Santos City, Cebu City, and the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Based on the ordinance, at least 10 percent of the Gender and Development (GAD) fund should be allotted for the council’s operation while 5 percent of the city’s general fund should be allotted to the GAD office.

Thus, if the city council has approved at least P1 billion budget this year, GAD should have its share of P50 million while ACAC is assured of P5 million for all its programs and personnel. Seven years ago, the council has only P1.6 million budget. Recent reports from the Inquirer revealed that only P3.9 million was approved for ACAC.
At any rate, there is no problem with the present ACAC budget. However, the problem lies in the implementation of the council’s programs since what we see are only short-term and minor solutions for a major problem. A message to “stop AIDS” printed on tarpaulins and posters, hanged in front of different bars in Fields Avenue, will not suffice. If this is a city of friendship as projected by Mayor Blueboy, then, programs for the prevention of the dreaded disease should also be “friendly.”

I am not advocating (since I am not an NGO worker anymore) for a perfect implementation of the ordinance because no amount of “Draconian measures” could completely stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. But prevention of the pandemic is not all about tarpaulins and posters. It is not all about telling and reminding sexually active persons to always use condom. It is not all about allotting millions of funds to treat people living with HIV. More importantly, it is all about care and attention for people, for those who are afflicted with the disease, and the concern for those who might be afflicted. It is all about taking responsibility, taking every step to protect the whole family against an infection that has ruined peoples’ dreams and goals.