This was on TV in the morning news today. HIV once again is the star. Oddly enough, this was not a health segment or anything close to that. It was really just meant to be bizarre news.
So HIV makes for bizarre news these days?
Well, see for yourself...
Click here if you can't see the video.
Okay, don't nosebleed on me. Luckily, I speak Spanish... no I'm kidding. I did research.
So basically, a doctor in Brazil was getting tired of being burglarized while at work. The solution? She took HIV-infected syringes home with her and built a "wall of HIV" to stop people jumping her fence.
Of course, seeing syringes might not have been enough. So she put a warning sign on her fence that reads, "Wall with HIV-positive blood. Don't climb it."
Hmmmmm. Wherever this woman lives, burglars must be pretty educated to know exactly what HIV is. Oh, but then this begs the question whether they are educated enough to read and understand the sign in the first place.
But kudos to this doctor for taking advantage of the myths of HIV that have actually been haunting the Philippines for years now. Remember, around a decade ago maybe, rumors that instilled fear in Pinoy moviegoers of being suddenly pricked by HIV-infected needles in theater seats? Oh... reminiscing.
But really, her method probably won't scare away those who already are HIV-positive, those who know that her contaminants will probably not be fresh enough after being exposed to air and sunlight for days and days, those who take a cutter to the tape that's holding her syringes, and those who can see that there are gaps in the fence that are clear of her prickly things. Darn, doctors ain't all that smart, huh?
In the end, the Homeowners' Association called the police, who said they couldn't do anything about it. So the Homeowners' Association gave her 5 days to take down her HIV-tainted needles or get fined.
So yeah, HIV is in the news once again, hilariously bizarre as this story may be. But to all of us living with HIV, no of-FENCE.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
No Of-Fence
Monday, June 06, 2011
"Functionally Cured" of HIV
Since HIV was discovered 30 years ago this week, 30 million people have died from the disease, and it continues to spread at the rate of 7,000 people per day globally, the UN says.
There's not much good news when it comes to this devastating virus. But that is perhaps why the story of the man scientists call the "Berlin patient" is so remarkable and has generated so much excitement among the HIV advocacy community.
Timothy Ray Brown suffered from both leukemia and HIV when he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant in Berlin, Germany in 2007. The transplant came from a man who was immune to HIV, which scientists say about 1 percent of Caucasians are. (According to San Francisco's CBS affiliate, the trait may be passed down from ancestors who became immune to the plague centuries ago. This Wired story says it was more likely passed down from people who became immune to a smallpox-like disease.)
What happened next has stunned the dozens of scientists who are closely monitoring Brown: His HIV went away.
"He has no replicating virus and he isn't taking any medication. And he will now probably never have any problems with HIV," his doctor Gero Huetter told Reuters. Brown now lives in the Bay Area, and suffers from some mild neurological difficulties after the operation. "It makes me very happy," he says of the incredible cure.
The development of anti-retroviral drugs in the 1990s was the first sign of hope in the epidemic, transforming the disease from a sudden killer to a more manageable illness that could be lived with for decades. But still, the miraculous cocktail of drugs is expensive, costing $13 billion a year in developing countries alone, according to Reuters. That figure is expected to triple in 20 years--raising the worry that more sick people will not be able to afford treatment.
Although Brown's story is remarkable, scientists were quick to point out that bone marrow transplants can be fatal, and there's no way Brown's treatment could be applied to the 33.3 million people around the world living with HIV. The discovery does encourage "cure research," according to Dr. Jay Levy, who co-discovered HIV thirty years ago, something that many people did not even think was possible years ago.
You can watch Brown talk about his cure in this CBS video report.
Source:
Yahoo!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
YFL Hits the Inquirer
MAROON 5 VOCALIST Adam Levine recently revealed his obsession over yoga, how it helped solve his flexibility issues and how it sculpted his body. For a group here in Manila, yoga means more than just a workout. To them it is a community whose common advocacy focuses on helping people with HIV.
Read on as Yoga for Life is featured by Emman Cena in the Philippine Daily Inquirer article "Yoga for people living with HIV". :-)
Founded by yoga instructors Charmaine Cu-Unjieng and Paulo Leonido who once dreamt of bringing yoga particularly to the HIV community, Yoga for Life became the buzzword in June last year. With the help of ECHOyoga, Positivism and core volunteers, Charmaine and Paulo were able to start yoga classes initially with 14 students.
“The first months were like walking on thin ice as we needed to get people to open up to either experiencing yoga and facing the issue of HIV,” the founders recalled. After almost a year, the Yoga for Life community has grown to over 300 members holding bi-weekly classes in Ortigas and Makati.
As a community of people living with HIV and those tested “negative” but likewise support the cause, YFL seeks to send the strong message that “there is no place for fear, stigma and discrimination in our world.”
The number of people getting HIV infection is sending shockwaves of alarm the world over. In the Philippines alone, six cases are recorded a day unlike in 2006 when it used to be just a single case per day, said Cu-Unjieng in an interview with the Inquirer.
It should be noted that Philippines and Bangladesh are the only countries in the whole Asia Pacific region whose HIV prevalence has increased by 25 percent in over 10 years. Most countries have HIV epidemics that are controlled or decreasing, she said.
Best yoga poses
What makes the YFL program different from among the yoga programs available is its emphasis on the practice of breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation to deepen the yoga experience.
“Many of our students face extraordinary fear, stress, anxiety or depression because of the impact of HIV and AIDS in their lives, so we use these yoga techniques to help alleviate these and bring them back to a peaceful, happy and optimistic, positive state of mind,” Cu-Unjieng told the Inquirer.
Because HIV attacks the immune system, people who develop AIDS become vulnerable to opportunistic infections. YFL puts premium on certain yoga poses that are especially beneficial in boosting the immune system, stimulating the thyroid gland and detoxifying the body, particularly inversions and fish pose. All breathing techniques are beneficial to the immune system, especially the Ujjayi breath (“victorious breath”), Cu-Unjieng said.
“Meditation is good for everyone, especially those suffering from mental and emotional stress. People living with HIV need to adopt a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally. Healthy diet, regular exercise, stress-free environment and avoidance of toxins like alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine can all strengthen the immune system,” she furthered.
Part of the YFL program is discussion on relevant issues such as safe sex and positive prevention using the yoga philosophy.
The YFL community provides a safe haven for people living with HIV because they do not need to disclose their status to become members, the founders said. Members are welcomed and treated with the same respect and love as anyone else. The group relies on the support of private and public donors to cover for their expenses and from the minimal “suggested donation” of P200 from students who join their classes.
All the regular yoga classes that YFL conducts are open to anyone who supports the HIV and AIDS cause. There is no registration fee to be a member. Schedules are available at www.yogaforlife.ph.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Intercourse of the Church
The issue of the Reproductive Health Bill or RH Bill has been heating up again. What with President Noynoy Aquino seemingly back to support the RH Bill again, and as expected the Catholic church not backing down from opposing it. Oi, who would ever have thought that Reproductive Health would be of a priestly concern? For me, it would be like me promoting sex with a female... irrelevant... disjunct... does not compute. But well, things happen. So the church and the RH Bill have headlined Yahoo! news today... not just once, but twice!
Some Priests are Pro-RH Bill - Bishop
The Catholic Church does not have the unified support of all its members when it comes to the issue of the Reproductive Health Bill, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) disclosed today.
Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL), revealed that there are some priests who are pro-RH bill.
“Well, in the Church, there’s a space for dissent also… Even the 10 commandments, there are many who disobey it, right?” Aniceto said in an interview. “We leave it to their conscience. We respect that. But majority are not in favor. I think, in their own moral and theological discernment, we should respect them for that.”
He said these priests have maintained anonymity although some bishops are aware of their dissenting positions.
Aniceto believes that these priests are only misguided or are lacking sufficient knowledge about the provisions of the bill.
My thoughts? "I respect your views, but you're misguided." LOL! Ironic much!
Filipino Cardinal Urges Charm Offensive but Hits President's Lack of Faith
Take it from someone who has walked the corridors of power at the Vatican. Saying that Philippine President Benigno Aquino III was now "losing his popularity", Jose Cardinal Sanchez, the oldest among the country's three living cardinals, has urged Catholic bishops to go on a charm offensive and befriend congressmen to win them over in the reproductive health (RH) bill debate.
Sanchez, 91, also lamented in an interview with CBCP News that President Aquino's mother (the late President Corazon Aquino) and his sisters had "more faith than him".
"He is now losing his popularity. He has no firm idea on marriage. It is too much politics now and no longer religion. (His) mother (the late former President Corazon Aquino) and (his) sisters have more faith than him," said Sanchez, who once oversaw the diocesan priests around the world as prefect of the Vatican Congregation on the Clergy.
Hiking Filipinos' income: Sanchez said that the government should try to improve the lot of Filipino families by increasing their income instead of "destroying" them by pushing for the RH bill.
But with the President losing his popularity, Sanchez said that Congress would not be able to pass the bill. And a charm offensive could help.
Sanchez recalled that when he was once a bishop assigned in Bicol, he was a "friend to all the congressmen" so it was easy for him to confront them when a proposed law contradicted church doctrine.
"If there are bills contradictory to the Catholic teachings, I would go to these congressmen one by one to enlighten them with the Catholic teachings and they would easily agree with me. And as friends, they would find it hard to go against the bishop," Sanchez said.
However, he admitted that it would be harder to do this now since many lawmakers today are non-Christians.
What next? Sanchez said he came back to the country from Rome to ward off the "tendencies that threaten to destroy the Catholic Church."
He said he was worried that same-sex marriage, which he said had been approved in Brazil - the world's largest Catholic country - might also be "accepted" later in the Philippines.
"I did not come here to fight the RH Bill. I came here to protect the Catholic doctrine. (The RH bill) is insignificant as far as the problems of the world are concerned. But I'm happy that it is being faced seriously by the Philippine Church," Sanchez said.
He said that if the Church fails to reverse these "tendencies" that threaten the Church, there would be fewer priests in the country in 50 years' time.
"The world is changing, and the evil doesn't stop. I hope the Philippines will remain a Christian country. But I know the (Filipino) Christians are not sleeping, they keep on fighting," Sanchez said.
My thoughts? Government increase Filipino families' income how? Perhaps if we begin collecting taxes from the church, hmmm. And it's nice know that the cardinal spilled the beans. So the church is only concerned about the Catholic doctrine and about there being less priests in 50 years. So they really aren't out to care for the people... sigh. Huhuhu... hu.
Let me end with this picture...
LOL! Just quit the intercourse of the church with the state, okay? Abstinence to you!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Noynoy Risks Ire on RH Bill
President Benigno Aquino III pledged on Sunday to push for the passage of a reproductive health bill in Congress as a tool to fight poverty even at the risk of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Efforts to enact a law that would promote access to sex education and contraception have been blocked since the 1990s by powerful Roman Catholic bishops. Around 80 percent of the country's 94 million people are Catholic.
"I remain committed to push the passage of a law for responsible parenthood," Aquino told graduates of the country's premier state university.
"I know there are those who oppose it. At risk of excommunication, it is my obligation as leader to explain my principles to them, even if their minds are already closed. But, in the end, I must listen to my conscience and do what is right."
Last year, Catholic bishops denied threatening to impose canonical sanction against the president due to his plans but reminded him to consider church's position.
The bishops said some forms of contraception were tantamount to abortion. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines.
Aquino has indicated support for the bill, raising hopes it could be passed, but the measure was not on a list of priority bills submitted to Congress.
During his speech, Aquino spoke of meeting an unemployed 16-year-old boy with two children. He said:
"How will they feed their children when they have no jobs? Who is to blame for their situation? How did such responsibility fall on them? More importantly, how can I help them?"
The church says tackling corruption would do more to reduce poverty than slowing population growth. The Philippines has one of the region's highest rates of maternal deaths -- an average of 11 women a day die giving birth.
Foreign missions and international agencies have been urging the Philippine government to adopt a reproductive health legislative framework as an anti-poverty strategy.
The European Union has also called for the passage of a maternal health law, saying slower population growth would improve health and lower poverty. It has promised $50.5 million health package to raise contraceptive usage in low-income, rural communities.
Source:
ABS-CBN News
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Miss Saigon to Miss Condom
Any time a well-known personality supports condoms and the Reproductive Health Bill is certainly blog worthy, to me at least. And as well as well-known can get, internationally-acclaimed Broadway star Lea Salonga - just of the tiny Miss Saigon and Les Miserables fame - has joined the fight to support the RH Bill, thanks to that crazy ordinance that the officials of Barangay Ayala Alabang passed. So who said I was making a big deal about it? Apparently, I'm not alone.
Lea Salonga joins Ayala Alabang residents to protest condom ordinance
It was the same scene two weeks ago, rallyists dressed in yellow with placards protesting the passage of a barangay ordinance that regulates the purchase, sale and promotion of condoms and other moderns forms of contraception. Only this time they were angrier, noisier and demanding.
Storming the gates of the uber posh Ayala Alabang Village, rallyists were vigorously waving signs. Words that were previously only spoken in angered whispers or "shouted out" in the realm of Facebook, were now brandished in bold red letters: "I am a citizen of the Philippines, not Alabangistan!" read one placard. "AAV = Alliance Against Vaginas" read another placard, giving another meaning to the acronym of the village name. "Get bigots out of our bedrooms!" cried another. Other posters asked those passing by to show their support by honking their horns. And they had every right to be angry.
Since the last demonstration that coincided with the second public hearing on the controversial ordinance last March, there has been no word from the Barangay Council if they were going to repeal the ordinance which was rejected by the City Council and later declared as unconstitutional by various local government agencies.
"Wala pa kaming balita sa barangay council kung ano ang gagawin nila," said former DOH Secretary and Alabang resident, Esperanza Cabral."Hindi dapat pa patagalin ito." Cabral has been leading the efforts among the anti-ordinance group in the village.
Broadway star Lea Salonga, who openly opposed the ordinance said, "We live in a democracy and this is simply not right. Maigiging public record ang pabgili ng condoms at kahit ng pills na pwede naman hindi lang pang-contraception, pwedeng pang treat ng ovarian syndrome, magiging public record. It simply is not right." Salonga said she would have joined the previous demonstrations, but was out of the country.
Raoul, the 27-year old resident whose attempt to buy condoms last March from a drugstore in Alabang Town Center was secretly captured on video, also revealed himself. "I'm an example of who this ordinance directly affects. I'm going to have to go to my doctor and get a prescription for condoms. And how will I even say it, "Doc I'm going out on a date and it might work out."? It's just crazy."
Despite a statement from Barangay Captain Xerex Burgos that the ordinance was not be implemented as it had not yet secured the approval of the City Council, condom sales are being regulated. This was validated by Raoul. "Just three days ago, I tried to buy condoms at the Rustan's supermarket inside the village and they wouldn't let me. Bawal daw." Raoul also explained that condoms were at the back and not accessible without the assistant of a pharmacist.
"We want a resolution to this already," added Cabral who said that since the March 19 rally, nothing yet had been done by the Barangay Council, not even an update. When asked about being prepared for the worst and the ordinance being kept in effect, Cabral said, "They cannot not repeal that. And if they don't then we will just keep on doing this," Cabral concluded.
Read the article here.
All I can say is, "You go girls!"
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Prescription for Objection
I first saw a friend’s Facebook post ranting about Ayala Alabang. I didn’t understand really what it was all about, and brushed it off as something personal. Oi, little did I know that there was more to the sentiment. And boy, when I found out, was I shocked! Who wasn’t? Rumor has it, you now need a prescription to buy condoms in Barangay Ayala Alabang.
No... effing... way.
I heard it on TV, read it in the papers, and of course, it’s true. I searched frantically for where this all came from. Fortunately, the Alabang Bulletin website itself carries the very source. Apparently, this was an ordinance passed by the Ayala Alabang Barangay Council just this year. Entitled “An Ordinance Providing for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn Child within the Territorial Jurisdiction of Barangay Ayala Alabang,” I just had to read it for myself.
So indeed, Section 3 which states the objectives mentions repeatedly about the unborn child, unborn child and unborn child. And right off the bat, starting with the objectives, I OBJECT! What the hell does the “unborn child” have to do with condoms?
I just think that if condoms were indeed used, and used properly, there wouldn’t be an unborn child in the first place. And if there indeed was an unborn child already - ergo sperm has met the egg - then condoms can’t do any more harm to it, can they? So the condoms and the unborn child connection absolutely does NOT compute.
At this point, I need to make clear that I can only defend condoms. The rest, which are defined to be abortifacients, I leave to the straights to take care of. I seriously doubt if I’ll ever need the service of abortifacients in my personal capacities.
In truth, condoms were only really mentioned explicitly once. Section 2 D states that the Barangay, “denounces the use of condoms as far as they promote and sanction immoral sexual congresses among the unmarried and especially among the young...”
Poor, poor condoms. Why denounce condoms? Do condoms contain subliminal messages that human beings do not have the intellectual capacity to thwart? Or is it not true that human beings entertain their own thoughts, make their own decisions, and are responsible for their own actions?
Seriously?! Are we not in 2011 to be this prude? Was it not some biblical character who said something like, “Go forth and multiply”? If that’s not promoting sex, what is? Should we then condemn the bible and Catholicism altogether?
In addition, Section 2 D also states that the Barangay, “condemns the irresponsible and indiscriminate use of contraceptives as they undermine the solidarity of families by promoting premarital sex, giving rise to more fatherless children, more single mothers, more poverty, and more abortions when the contraceptives fail to prevent conception, and by causing a decline of legitimate marriages”
So, in the same sense, should we condemn the use of seatbelts altogether because they also give rise to more fatherless children, more single mothers, more poverty and more abortions when seatbelts fail to prevent deaths due to road accidents? Duh.
And is there a study that proves that contraceptives actually cause a decline of legitimate marriages? I thought we were protecting the unborn child? How come it seems we are now protecting legitimate marriages? Again, the connection is lost.
Personally, I actually think this ordinance was just a sneaky way of getting condoms into trouble by generalizing the contraceptives category. I mean, seriously, to ask for a prescription for condoms... Isn’t that a bit much?
If doctors do prescribe condoms, I suggest they give free Viagra along with it, as people would have to sustain erections much longer to make up for the consultation time. Oh and the clinics should be open 24 hours a day, too, to accommodate late night and early morning spontaneous sex.
I mean, Filipinos are conservative now as it is, that you have to take a pack of condoms up to the cashier. And now you have to go to a doctor to prescribe them? Considering it would technically be a doctor’s consultation to have to ask for a prescription, a consultation you may have to pay for, could this be a ploy for additional income for doctors in Ayala Alabang? Don’t doctors in Ayala Alabang have anything better to do than prescribe condoms? How sad.
Fine, so maybe I’m biased towards condoms, but let me ask you a few questions...
If this were enacted just to save the unborn child, then should this prescription requirement not be targeted only to straight couples having vaginal sex? Because the last time I checked, homosexual acts, and anal and oral sex can only give rise to pregnant tonsils and fudgy cream pies. Let’s not even talk about bestiality. No unborn children there... ever.
Oi, there are so many issues in this ordinance that violate basic human rights.
If in this Barangay, commercial entities are not allowed the fair right to do business and sell their innocent goods, then they should pack up and move out of the Barangay. If schools are not allowed to be proactive and care enough to uphold their constituents’ rights to education, albeit sex education, then these schools should move where they are free to do their duty. Barangays need to care for businesses too, ya know.
Clearly, this Barangay has a hidden agenda, and does not truly care about the wellbeing of their people. To everyone living in Ayala Alabang, move out, and go to where you will be cared for. Or stay there, and just go to neighboring barangays to get condoms and get the health services you deserve.
Oh, and next time, do NOT vote for the people behind this ordinance, namely Barangay Captain ALFRED A. XEREZ-BURGOS, JR., Barangay Councilors JOANNA CALUGCUG, ALICE A. BACANI, MARIA CARMEN G. REYES, MA. SOLEDAD M. TUGADE, MARIANO S.MANAS, JR., APOLINARIO R. DE LOS SANTOS III, GIANCARLO A. NAZARIO, and SK Chairman JUAN ENRICO A. PARFAN.
They are NOT at your service. They are not very smart either. While Ayala Alabang is known to be the village of the rich and cultured, clearly, the rich and cultured are not exempt from being uneducated.
A quick search reveals that Alfred A. Xerez-Burgos Jr. is President and CEO Landco Pacific Corporation (I would think twice about living in Landco properties now). He is President of the Muntinlupa Development Foundation, a 20-year old Foundation helping the poor people of Muntinlupa (helping themm multiply?). He is also the President of Club Punta Fuego, Inc., and Chairman of Philippine Red Cross, Rizal Chapter (seriously?). He graduated from the Asian Institute of Management in 1971. Prior to this, he graduated among the top 25% of his class from the De La Salle University in 1969 (yes, La Salle, he is your product).
One last question. If I move to Ayala Alabang and have unprotected sex with everyone there and infect everyone with HIV, would I be applauded and excused because of the unavailability of condoms? You know, for the protection of the unborn child? Hmm, interesting.
Read the entire text of the ordinance below, or visit the Alabang Bulletin website.
Republic of the Philippines, City of Muntinlupa
Sanggunian Barangay of Ayala Alabang
Barangay Ordinance No. 01, Series of 2011
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE SAFETY AND PROTECTION OF THE UNBORN CHILD WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF BARANGAY AYALA ALABANG; FIXING PENALTIES FOR ITS VIOLATIONS, AND, FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Sangguniang Barangay of Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Ordinance shall be known as the Protection of the Unborn Child Ordinance of 2011.
SECTION 2. DECLARATION OF BARANGAY POLICIES
A. BARANGAY AYALA ALABANG (hereafter, the BARANGAY) upholds (a) the State’s recognition of the sanctity of family life and its obligation to protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution (Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution); (b) the duty of the State “to equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn child from conception” (Ibid.) since the unborn is the family’s most vulnerable member, and, (c) the State’s identification of the Filipino family including the unborn child as “the foundation of the nation” and its pledge to “strengthen the family’s solidarity and actively promote its total development” [Article XV, Section 3 (1)];
B. The BARANGAY also adheres to (a) the State’s declared policy of “full respect for human rights” (Article II, Section 11), the most basic of which is the right to life for without it all other rights become meaningless; (b) the implicit Constitutional principle that the people’s right to life (Article III, Section 1) like that of the unborn child is an absolute value and norm that cannot be repealed by ordinary legislation;
C. The BARANGAY likewise supports the State’s recognition of (a) the right of children to proper care and nutrition, protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their development [Article XV, Section 3 (2)]; (b) the vital role of the youth in nation building, and (c) its commitment to promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being, and, (d) the role of women in nation-building, and, its pledge to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men (Article II, Sections 13 & 14);
D. The BARANGAY as well (a) endorses the view that contraceptive pills and hormonal contraceptives and the IUD may kill children and injure the health of women who use them; (b) condemns the irresponsible and indiscriminate use of contraceptives as they undermine the solidarity of families by promoting premarital sex, giving rise to more fatherless children, more single mothers, more poverty, and more abortions when the contraceptives fail to prevent conception, and by causing a decline of legitimate marriages, and, (c) denounces the use of condoms as far as they promote and sanction immoral sexual congresses among the unmarried and especially among the young, thereby contradicting the Constitutional injunction that the State “shall promote and protect … the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being” of the youth;
E. The BARANGAY (a) acknowledges that the unborn possesses and enjoys all human rights like other persons by nature and by law and that he or she shall be entitled first and foremost to the right of life, safety and protection even as he or she may still be in his or her mother’s womb; (b) follows the mandate of the Constitution that the unborn child shall be protected from the moment of conception from all outside interventions, interferences or intrusions, including, but not limited to, intentional acts that may be medically considered as abortive whether through the use of chemicals, surgical or abdominal massage during the natural process of growth of the fertilized ovum, and (c) backs up the principle that the right of the parents over their minor daughters with unborn children is superior to that of the State in instances involving the safety, protection and welfare of the said unborn children and their mothers of minor age; and,
F. The BARANGAY lastly deduces from pertinent Constitutional tenets that since life begins at conception there is no place for the so-called “free choice” argument to justify compulsory sex education in the schools within its territorial jurisdiction that, among other things, disregards “the right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect them” [(Article XV, Section 3 (2)] or that insidiously allows the State to take over “the natural and primary right and duty of parents” to rear their children “for civic efficiency and the development of (their) moral character” (Article II, Section 12 last sentence).
SECTION 3. OBJECTIVES
The ordinance has the following objectives:
(a) to promote the safety, protection, and, welfare of the unborn child from the moment of conception or fertilization and during all stages of development while inside the mother’s womb;
(b) to acknowledge the unborn child as a human being with human personality and to extend the mantle of legal protection to the child from the moment of his or her conception or fertilization;
(c) to mandate that the delivery of health services to the mother during pregnancy shall be done without prejudice to the unborn child;
(d) to ensure the continued well-being and good health of the mother by protecting her from any act or threat that may adversely affect the viability of the unborn child in all stages of the mother’s pregnancy and even after the child’s delivery;
(e) to encourage the legal, moral and healthy sexual relationships among those entitled thereto under the laws of the country and pursuant to the religious convictions of the couples concerned as mandated by the Constitution; and
(f) to support the Constitutional precept that the total development of the child is a primordial duty of both the parents and the State and its agencies, including the BARANGAY.
(g) to promote and provide effective and scientifically proven Natural Family Planning (NFP) services to married couples and those engaged to be married, because NFP, unlike contraceptives, strengthens rather than weakens the marriage bond between husband and wife, which is the foundation stone of the family, the foundation of the nation.
SECTION 4. DEFINITION OF TERMS
For purposes of the Ordinance, the following terms are defined as follows:
Unborn – refers to a child at any stage of his or her existence and development beginning from the union of the sperm and the egg until the birth stage;
Conception or Fertilization – refers to the time that the sperm fertilizes the egg, which starts a new life that has a distinct existence and genetic make-up of its own;
Implantation – refers to that stage of development of the fetal life which takes place around five days after fertilization when the fertilized egg is implanted in the ovum.
Fetal development – refers to the development process of human life from the union of the sperm and egg until the birth of the child.
Abortion – any act or practice whether done intentionally or unintentionally to endanger, cause or bring about the death, injury, damage, expulsion or interference in the natural development of the fetus or the unborn child such as through “hilot” (abdominal massage), administration of certain medicines or herbal concoctions, suction, hysterectomy, saline injection, hormonal contraceptives, intra-uterine devices (IUD’s) or other similar means or devices like vacuum aspirators or abortifacient substances whether used singly or in combination with other substances.
Abortive acts – abortion practiced by the woman herself or by her parents or guardians, physicians or midwives or pharmacists who dispense abortives in violation of the provisions of the Revised Penal Code (Articles 256-259).
Contraceptive – any device or drug that is intended or has the purpose or effect of preventing conception as a consequence of sexual intercourse.
Abortifacient – is any device, medicine, substance or practice which may damage, injure, interfere with the natural development, endanger or cause the expulsion or death of an unborn child; except for such devices, medicines, substances or practices which are standard medical treatments for medical conditions which threaten the life or physical health of a pregnant woman or an unborn child, when used to treat such medical conditions, and neither the primary effect nor purpose of such device, medicine, substance, or practice is to cause the termination of a pregnancy or prevent conception. Abortifacients include Intrauterine Devices (IUD’s), and hormonal contraceptives, as well as any and all other devices, medicines, substances or practices which fall within the foregoing definition, including but not limited to the list hereto attached as Annex A entitled as List of Hormonal Contraceptives. This list shall be updated from time to time as the need arises.
Human personality – refers to the status that is gained and attaches to an unborn child from the moment of conception.
Parental Right – refers to the right of parents to give or withhold consent when minors are involved in any decision or disposition relating to unborn children at any stage of their development in the wombs of their minor mothers.
SECTION 5. HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY
All health services performed within the territorial jurisdiction of the BARANGAY including any other institution or person, whether natural or juridical, the Barangay Health Centers and any domestic health care institution, which is duly licensed and accredited and devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation of facilities for health promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury, disability or deformity, or in need of obstetrical or other medical and nursing care shall use only safe, ethical, effective, legal and non-abortifacient medicines or drugs or machines, devices or methods of treatment that do not cause abortion intentionally or unintentionally.
For the protection of the unborn and the institutions of marriage and family, no abortifacients shall be prescribed by health care providers within the territorial jurisdiction of the BARANGAY.
All funds which are budgeted or disbursed by the BARANGAY for programs to support responsible parenthood shall be used exclusively to promote and provide effective and scientifically proven Natural Family Planning (NFP) services to married couples and those engaged to be married.
The BARANGAY shall encourage, and where possible support, financially and otherwise, the establishment of one or more crisis pregnancy centers within the Barangay, to provide assistance in the form of counseling, and, if possible, medical and material support to women who are experiencing a crisis pregnancy.
SECTION 6. PROHIBITED ACTS
It is hereby declared illegal and unlawful for:
1. Any natural or juridical person to advertise within the territorial jurisdiction of the BARANGAY by billboards, brochures, leaflets, flyers or similar means or in any manner or form, sell, offer for free or endorse, promote, prescribe or distribute abortifacients as defined in Section 4. Definition of Terms.
2. Any person to subject an unborn child or his or her mother to acts that may endanger or expose the unborn child or mother to injury or death.
3. Any person to hold, conduct or teach compulsory sex education without prior consultation with, and written permission of, the parents or guardians of minor students in any school, public or private within the territorial jurisdiction of the BARANGAY;
4. Any funds of the BARANGAY to be used for the purchase or provision of contraceptives as defined in Section 4. Definition of Terms; and,
5. Either the BARANGAY or its employees or its agencies to solicit, accept or dispense contraceptives as defined in Section 4. Definition of Terms.
SECTION 7. REGULATED ACTS
The pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 5921 entitled AN ACT REGULATING THE PRACTICE OF PHARMACY AND SETTING STANDARDS OF PHARMACEUTICAL EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES enacted into law June 21, 1969 are hereby incorporated into the Ordinance as an integral part thereof and are reproduced as follows:
“Section 37. Provisions relative to dispensing of anti-conceptional substances and devices. No drug or chemical product or device capable of provoking abortion or preventing conception as classified by the Food and Drug Administration shall be delivered or sold to any person without a proper prescription by a duly licensed physician.
The pharmacist in charge of a drug store or pharmacy after filling a prescription containing abortive or anti-conceptional substance or devices shall record in a separate register book for abortives and anti-conceptionals, the following data;
(a) Number and date of the prescription;
(b) Name and address of the physician;
(c) Name, quantity and manufacturer of the drug;
(d) Name and address of the purchaser;
(e) Date of filling the prescription; and
(f) Signature of the pharmacist filling the prescription.
“Section. 41. Other penalties. Any pharmacist who shall violate any of the provisions of Sections twenty-eight, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-seven and thirty-eight of this Act or any pharmacist after his certificate of registration has been lawfully suspended or revoked, who continues to engage in the practice of pharmacy, shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to a fine of not less than one hundred pesos but shall not exceed five hundred pesos or to an imprisonment of not less than thirty days but not more than four months, in the discretion of the court.
Any person other than citizens of the Philippines having been found guilty of any violation as provided for in this and the preceding section shall, after having paid the fine or having served his sentence or both when so required be also subject to deportation.”
In addition to the above provisions of Republic Act No. 5921, classifications of drugs or chemical products or devices that are abortifacients as defined in Section 4. Definition of Terms shall also fall under the regulatory provision of this Section.
SECTION 8. PENALTIES
(a) Any person found guilty for the first time of violating any provision of Section 6 of the Ordinance shall be fined in an amount not less than P1,000 but not exceeding P5,000; for the second offense, he or she shall be fined in the amount of not less than P5,000 and be imprisoned for not less than one month but not exceeding six months; and for the third and succeeding offenses, he or she shall be sentenced to an imprisonment for not less than six months but not exceeding one year. Violators of the Ordinance shall also be held civilly liable to the offended party.
(b) If the person violating any provision of the Ordinance is an employee of the BARANGAY, he or she shall also be dismissed from his or her office and shall thereafter be barred from holding any public office.
(c) If the person violating any provision of the Ordinance is a business enterprise, firm, company or corporation or an educational institution, its president, chief executive officer or any other person responsible for the management and/or operation of the enterprise in the BARANGAY, shall suffer the penalties provided for in Section 7. In addition, the BARANGAY permit to engage in business of the said business enterprise, firm, company or corporation or to operate a private educational institution in the Barangay shall be declared null and void.
SECTION 9. EXCLUSIONARY PROVISION
Acts already proscribed by the revised penal code or by any special law are excluded from the purview of the ordinance and shall be penalized pursuant to the provisions of the code or the applicable special law.
SECTION 10. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE
If any provision of this Ordinance or part thereof is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall remain valid and subsisting.
SECTION 11. EFFECTIVITY
Within three (3) days from the enactment of this Ordinance, the Sangguniang Barangay shall furnish copies thereof to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Muntinlupa for review. If the Sangguniang Panlungsod fails to take appropriate action on the Ordinance within thirty (30) days from receipt hereof, the same shall be deemed approved. The Ordinance shall take effect upon the approval by the Sangguniang Panlungsod or as herein provided and after its posting at two conspicuous places, one at the entrance of the Barangay Hall of Ayala Alabang and another at a visible place accessible to the public in the BARANGAY for three (3) consecutive weeks and its publication in a newspaper of general circulation for one (1) week.
PASSED AND APPROVED, JANUARY 3, 2011.
Signed by Punong Barangay ALFRED A. XEREZ-BURGOS, JR., Barangay Kagawads JOANNA CALUGCUG, ALICE A. BACANI, MARIA CARMEN G. REYES, MA. SOLEDAD M. TUGADE, MARIANO S.MANAS, JR., APOLINARIO R. DE LOS SANTOS III, GIANCARLO A. NAZARIO, and SK Chairman JUAN ENRICO A. PARFAN. Attested by Barangay Secretary SANTOS A. RANCUDO.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Shooting Stars
Okay, fine, so maybe I'm not shooting stars... or any heavenly body for that matter. But how about the Philippine Star? Hmmm, why not?
So Yoga for Life has once again made the pages of a national broadsheet, the Philippine Star specifically. And I sort of got quoted. Not mentioned, but quoted. Considering my last mention was in Abante, I'll take this one.
Yoga for Life, and Living for Yoga
by Audrey N. Carpio
On the first day back from the holidays, my yoga class was expectedly full with new people and their steely resolve to get on the fitness track. As we stretched out our creaky bones, saturated with Christmas fat, and sweated out the hangovers, I once again thought about what it was about yoga that has made me keep coming back to it throughout the years. I was always a nerd, unathletic and gawky, and in high school I would skip PE classes by managing to always have my period. The competitiveness of team sports didn’t appeal to me, and running like a hamster in the gym was boring and tedious. Discovering yoga was somewhat of a breakthrough in my physical routine, mainly because it wasn’t all about the physical. There was a mind-body connection that appealed to my intellectual and spiritual side while also creating a stronger, more toned body. After the last minutes of savasana I would always feel centered and peaceful, free of toxins both physical and emotional. So I wasn’t surprised when I came across yoga for people living with HIV. As a practice with proven physiological and psychological benefits for almost any type of body, it makes perfect sense.
Yoga for Life, a community-based yoga series created by Charmaine Cu-Unjieng, a Yale-educated HIV specialist, and Paulo Leonido, a fitness expert and personal trainer, came together when the two met during yoga teacher training under Roland dela Cruz of Bliss Yoga. Call it dharma. “We were together six days a week for two months. We’re both passionate about HIV. We even have the same birthday,” Charmaine says. “I always wanted to merge the work I had been doing with yoga, and meeting Paolo catalyzed it.”
With her contacts at Echo Yoga, a group that offers alternative classes to niche groups like overweight and older people, and his contacts at Philippine General Hospital and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Charmaine and Paulo developed an Iyengar-based yoga program designed for the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS. Worldwide, yoga is being recognized as an important complementary therapy for immunosuppressed patients. “I have friends living with HIV. I had always wondered, what happens next?” Paulo says. “So we came up with Yoga for Life, which is a non-strenuous, holistic approach to wellness.”
The first couple of months of classes were not so easy, as newcomers had many fears to overcome and needed to grow more comfortable about opening up and talking about HIV. “We didn’t know at first whether to focus on people with HIV, or make it an advocacy against stigma and discrimination, open to everyone. We were also concerned about confidentiality,” says Charmaine. But it has become a safe space: there is no requirement to disclose one’s status, and the classes are indeed open to people with HIV and those who support people with HIV. Ninety percent of the students are gay men, and half of them are estimated to be HIV positive.
In Ayurvedic philosophy, specific poses like inversions are beneficial to the immune system, while backbends stimulate thymus activity and forward bends detoxify the liver. B.K.S. Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar Yoga, outlined a sequence of poses that encourage proper blood circulation and activate glands that are known to regulate the production of T-cells, the body’s army against infections. For people living with HIV, yoga alleviates stress and depression. For those on ARV drugs, yoga helps detoxify their system. After an hour and 15 minutes of asana practice, the students are guided through meditation and breathing techniques, and it is in these moments that yoga becomes its most medicinal. “Our approach is to bring back the inner peace, self love, self empowerment and happiness. You don’t have to be reminded about your sickness,” Charmaine explains.
Feedback and results from students have been encouraging. One student, with a dangerously low CD4 count of 7 (HIV-negative people normally would have 700-1,000 T-cells) was getting sick with opportunistic infections. The doctor advised him to stop exercising. Charmaine and Paulo put him in relaxing poses. He stopped getting fever every day, and started gaining weight and getting stronger. His new CD4 count is unknown, but one can surmise that his stabilized health reflects a higher number of T-cells. Paulo shares that other students are starting to practice on their own, even employing breathing techniques inside taxis when they need to calm down.
With Paulo as a great motivator for the students, keeping in touch with inspirational texts, Yoga for Life has become more than just a place for a judgment-free work out. “Yoga for Life has proven itself to be a real community,” blogged one practitioner who had been living with HIV for three years. “Being with the Yoga for Life community turned out to be the best way to celebrate World AIDS Day. Yes, I dare to use the word ‘celebrate.’ Because gone are the days of World AIDS Day being a commemoration of the lives that had been lost to AIDS. Rather, we should be celebrating. Celebrating life going on in spite of the virus.”
For the new year, Paulo and Charmaine are hoping to scale up their program, introduce fun safer-sex campaigns to spread the message of positive prevention, and find more yoga teachers. As they run it on a volunteer basis and only ask for a suggested donation of P200 per class, the sustainability of Yoga for Life still looms as an issue. But with the energy they give out in service to others, the universe is sure to respond in manifold.
* * *
Yoga for Life is held on Wednesdays, 7 p.m. at 28th Floor Conference Room, Medical Plaza Ortigas Building, San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas, Pasig City, and on Saturdays, 2 p.m. at Echo Yoga Community Center, 9th Floor Penthouse, Century Plaza Building, Perea Street, Legazpi Village, Makati.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Election Erection
It’s March already. In just a little over a month and a half, the elections will be coming up again. A lot of decisions to be made, and huge ones at that. Decisions that are to shape the future of this country. Whoa. Nosebleed.
Who turns me on? Who turns me off?
Who will ultimately give me that election erection?
I’m pretty much a good citizen when it comes to voting. I’ve been voting ever since I reached the age at which I was qualified to. And I haven’t missed a single election ever either. I’m fortunate enough to live within a block of the precinct I’m assigned to, so really, there isn’t much suffering in suffrage for me.
So it’s 2010. Another presidential election is coming up. With so many issues facing candidates with running a whole country, how does one know who to vote for? Of course, it is but natural to evaluate candidates’ positions on the topics which matter most to you. And for me, right now, some of the more relevant issues to the times that have been getting the much needed attention from the presidentiables are those on family planning, contraceptives and sex education. The RH bill must also be mentioned, as it provides for disseminating information and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, including the use of condoms and ligation. Let’s see how they did.
Benigno Aquino III
Noynoy, back in 2009, categorically stated that he would “go on supporting the Reproductive Health Bill despite the possibility that Roman Catholic Church leaders and voters will boycott him in the 2010 elections.” He added that a legislation on reproductive health can help provide the sex education that present and future generations need, in answer to the misinformation they may get from the Internet and other media.
But as of January, Noynoy is said to have softened his stand on the RH Bill. He now chose to use the more careful term “responsible parenthood” in explaining his policy on family planning. Hmmm.
Vagueness much?
Gilbert Teodoro
Teodoro’s wife, Tarlac representative Nikki Teodoro, was actually one of the authors of the Reproductive Health Bill. Wooooow. But... she withdrew her support for the RH Bill after Gibo declared his candidacy. Oi.
So while earlier interviews had him saying, “While the state may not impose moral standards in connection with the contentious issue (of reproductive health), the government should support any means (whether natural or artificial) which an individual has freely made,” which is precisely what the RH Bill contains, Gibo in January backed down from endorsing the RH Bill as well.
But by March, at a forum sponsored by the Philippine College of Physicians, Teodoro became one of the first to come up strongly in favor of the reproductive health issue, stating that “The Department (of Health) must provide funding for all modern and natural family planning methods, except abortion,” supporting the prophylactic moves initiated by DOH Secretary Cabral. Agh.
Fickle-minded much?
Manuel Villar
Villar has always been against the RH Bill. He does not believe that a reproductive health program should be made into a law. Ouch. Well expected, really, since Villar is known to be an active member of Couples for Christ, a Chirstian lay organization. Yeesh.
Scary much?
Joseph Ejercito
Known to be pro-poor, which probably translates to the-more-the-manier, Erap’s stand on the RH Bill is comprised mainly of giving the people the freedom to have as many kids as they want, saying the government has no hand in controlling this aspect of Filipinos lives. We must remember, of course, that this comes from someone whose concept of family planning involves planning family after family after family, siring his own offspring with woman after woman after woman. *Speechless*
Horny much?
Richard Gordon
Former SBMA chair Gordon, meanwhile, at the same Philippine College of Physicians Forum, stated that not a single peso of the national budget should be allotted for the purchase of condoms and other birth control devices. A bit vague though, considering that does not necessarily say he won’t support education campaigns for Filipinos about these said reproductive health devices.
A February article though states that while Gordon says he will not campaign for the bill’s approval, it’s important for the government to ensure the good health of its citizens by providing them information on how to take care of themselves. He even went as far as saying “I am not afraid of the church.” Oooooh.
Interesting much.
JC delos Reyes
Delos Reyes, on the other hand, believes contraceptives are dangerous. What the?! Fine, he is pro-life. But even more appalling, he sees no need to support campaigns for sex education, since he believes the youth have "natural" or instinctive knowledge of sex. Seriously? “I think youth have enough natural knowledge of what will happen if they have sex.” Say what?! He also said he believes distributing condoms to the youth, as part of safe-sex campaigns, "promotes promiscuity and infidelity.” Enough!
He also says the next president should focus on promoting respect for women instead of spending on reproductive health measures. Duh.
Ironic much?
Others
Brother Eddie Villanueva, a popular evangelist, popular evangelist said that he will uphold “the rule of God above anything else." Nicolas Perlas, an independent candidate merely said he had reservations on some of the bill’s provisions. Jamby Madrigal, meanwhile, seems too busy bashing Villar to make statements on any other issues. Hehehe.
Much too much.
So there. If I were to vote for someone who clearly supported my cause, I realize I’d end up turning in a blank sheet. Really, the reason behind this is the position of the Catholic church against artificial and modern methods of family planning. They’ve actually gone on and released “election guidelines” for Catholic voters to veto candidates who go against the position of the church. How much farther have they gone? The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said voters who would elect pro-RH bill candidates would become willing accomplices to "evil." Oh, for heaven’s sake... stop the brainwashing. Hasn’t anyone heard of the supposed separation of church and state?
But beyond the merits of the reproductive health issue in itself, bringing up the topic exposes the political will that is innate in each candidate. Honestly, I have more respect for someone who takes a firm stand on the issues, even if he or she does not agree with my own personal views on the issue, rather than those who swish from one side to another... leave the swishing to the tranny on the catwalk in nine-inch heels. Please... Take a stand. If you can’t, just take a seat.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Call of the Call Center
I’m not sure really what it was, but to me so much of it seemed like damage control for one of the first news items that TV Patrol World came up with, linking HIV & AIDS with the call center industry. I think it’s just fitting that I start off with how Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine president herself, reacted when she was asked about the news on rising HIV cases in the call center industry, an industry which she has proudly taken a lot of credit for developing during her term. Willard Cheng reports.
I absolutely loved how she answered. “First of all, are they real? Are they real? Yung supposed HIV epidemic?” I’d give her a standing ovation. Of course people may have been expecting an outburst from her saying, “My God, we must do something about this!” But, no. She just said the right thing. In a case where even the Department of Health itself has not declared it to be an epidemic within the industry, she just really was not in any position to declare it as one. The PGH doctors who started the shock value of it should take note of that. Just because some of those working in the call center industry were among the HIV diagnoses made, it shouldn’t be a basis to automatically link the two.
I’m just a bit wary with the statement from Convergys, one of the call centers in the country, about how they have annual HIV testing for their employees. I do hope this isn’t anything mandatory, because that would certainly go against what’s stated in R.A. 8504. Remember, this is about health and wellness. It’s not a witchhunt.
In this next clip with Niña Corpuz, actual employees of call centers detest the generalization connecting HIV with their industry, and they’re absolutely spot on with saying it’s an individual’s responsibility, regardless of what industry he or she comes from, to protect him or herself from risks like those of HIV and STDs.
The concluding statement also works for me, when they say they would openly welcome HIV prevention and awareness campaigns in their workplace, but make clear how such campaigns should be made available to all, not just the call center industry. Bravo, guys and gals.
And this last segment of Zen Hernandez sealed the deal. Humphrey, HIV-positive and formerly working for a call center, states that, despite the fact that he used to work in the call center industry, it is a person’s lifestyle choices that matter when it comes to HIV. I actually know Humphrey personally, and do think everything he said here is accurate... really, in as much I’d like to keep up my streak of criticizing, I have nothing to say but “Great job!”
So there. Was it just me, or did all this seem like damage control? And if the resource persons who started the call center to HIV mess were actually so happy with how their initial feature turned out, why would there be a need for damage control, right? Hopefully they learned from this and will be more careful with their statements next time. Because when it comes to media accuracy, it’s actually very much like HIV... prevention works better than a cure.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Know, No, No
With the recent barrage of news items about HIV and AIDS, and just from one news program of one particular network, it’s sort of like it was unofficially declared to be HIV and AIDS Awareness Week. From Thursday in the last week of January, to Wednesday in the first of February, news on HIV has been a daily thing. Wonderful, supposedly, if they were accurate. But then of course, such hasn’t been the case so far. And so now, I’m back, and with more from them and for them.
In this report from Maricar Bautista, with the Valentine season comes the trend of speed dating. Speed dating is a type of event which strikes me as something like the Trip-to-Jerusalem of dating, without the elimination part of course. So girls get to spend a short amount of time with each of the guys at the event, and vice versa, all in the search of a potential match. Cute story, but then it gets linked again to the risk of HIV.
Speed dating and HIV? Wow. Not immediately a clear connection, to me at least. Clearly, based on the exact words of Dr. Eric Tayag of the DOH, it’s clear that it’s unprotected sex that poses the risk. So why link specific events as speed dating to HIV? So what is it about speed dating anyways? Is it the speed that exposes you to the risk of HIV? Yes, having to pose that question makes me giggle. Really, if you think about it, no matter how fast or slooooow you date, or how many you date, if when it comes to sex, you protect yourself, then you cut the risk significantly.
And no, it isn’t even about doing it with strangers. Because even if you know everything about someone, we have to remember that many of those who are infected with HIV do not even know that they are. Neither can you tell from how a person looks, who is HIV-positive or now. It’s just not safe to assume that everyone knows their own HIV status accurately. Look at it this way: Opt to play safe, whether it’s with a stranger, or with your twin brother.
In this report by Joey Villarama, what bugs me is the sweeping statement of Ferchito Avelino of the Philippine National AIDS Council saying the trends are effects of changing norms, technology, and the transformation of the Filipino family. For me, it’s not the changing norms, but the norms themselves. It's the so-called “norms” that have been in existence in our conservative culture that have sheltered sex and related topics under a thick blanket of taboo, preventing people from a guided understanding of the topic. Was this guy really from PNAC, or was he from the Catholic Church?
The report goes on to say that most of those who have gotten infected with HIV, are men who have had sex with men. But on the contrary, in the visual that accompanied that part, the 55% of infections attributed to men who had sex with women was greater. Again, this is news, and accuracy should be key.
And then it ends with CBCP spokesman Msgr. Pedro Quitorio again blaming the internet for destroying the morality of our youth. He calls for the youth to be alarmed, informed, and involved in finding a solution to the problem. Vague as that statement was, so why then is the Catholic Church pressuring against sex education and the reproductive health bill? Can you blame the youth for learning about sex from the internet? Answer me that, Father.
In this report of Jay Ruiz, HIV poster boy, Wanggo Gallaga, comes back out and also blames the internet for making finding sex easier. Fine, I’ll attest to that fact, being an avid fan of gay personals sites as well. But then again, isn’t it about playing safe, no matter how easy it is to find a playmate? The truth is, these same personals sites that are said to encourage hooking up, do have resources talking about safer sex. But in a culture that doesn’t know or believe that HIV is here, or that believes that one can tell by looks whether one does or doesn’t have HIV, do you wonder why people don’t click on the safe sex tabs as readily?
And with due respect to Wanggo, again, it’s not about how well you know the person you’re going to sleep with. Could it be that a partner you’ve been with and known for years might not know that he is HIV positive? And could it be that you might need to get tested as well? The question is not how well you know a person. The question is how well that person knows himself, specifically his HIV status. And the bigger question even, is how well you know yourself, specifically your own HIV status. Everyone must get tested, and must know their HIV status, and must protect themselves accordingly. Protect themselves, because HIV is not the only thing out there.
Kapamilya... please don’t jump on the HIV bandwagon just for the sake of a scoop. People do need to know, but they need to know what is right. Don’t forget your motto, Panig sa Katotohanan, Panig sa Bayan. Really, can true news exist without accuracy?
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Salamat, Doc
First, there was call centers. Then there was gimmick places. Yes, of course, there’s more. If before, unnecessary generalizations were made seemingly meant to mislead and scare people witless, this time, it’s different. It seems that ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol World got tired of generalizing. They decided to single out persons living with HIV… but it was not any less unnecessary, nor misleading, nor scary. Take a look and see for yourselves.
Sumusuong. It sort of strikes me in the context of accepting the challenge. The first statement says it all: Amidst the growing number of cases of HIV in the Philippines, is the lack of doctors and medical practitioners who are accepting the challenge of treating patients with this disease. A challenge. Should we be flattered that we are considered a challenge? Or does it say more about the kind of doctors we’re coming up with in this country?
Apparently, aside from sex workers and gays (argh, I’m again loving the generalization), one other high risk group is that of medical professionals who deal with us who are infected. They say not many dare to care for those with HIV because of the risks of infection involved, being constantly exposed to infected blood. The report goes on to cite that in the past two years, already more than ten medical health workers have tested positive with HIV.
Just a random thought. Was it established that these medical professionals did contract the virus through occupational hazards? Because from my experience, medical professionals do have sex, too. And also from my experience having sex with some medical professionals, they don’t always do it protected either. So could it be that it is easier for them to claim and blame occupational hazards, than admit to having careless sexual encounters? Two words: saving face.
And besides, exposure to blood and infected body fluids won’t make for a surefire transmission of the virus. There has to be a point of entry as well. I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t be using their vaginas or assholes to draw blood, right? So maybe there was a cut or open wound. Aren’t medical professionals trained to protect themselves with gloves and what have you? If something went wrong, must the patient be blamed, or could it be because they were not observing proper procedure, were not properly trained, or had committed some form of human error?
And the precautionary measures? Don’t you think that’s overkill? Fine. Gloves, I can understand.
But masks? It’s not like you can get infected with HIV by sharing the same air we breathe. Fine, in cases of tuberculosis or pneumonia or some airborne infections, it may be needed. But state it clearly. Masks are unnecessary if it’s just HIV. It’s more like medical personnel need to wear masks to protect us HIV-positives, who are more susceptible to simple infections. Ain’t that right?
And eyeshields and needleless systems? I’ve never seen blood drawn without needles in this country, unless you wait for all of us to menstruate maybe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe, when done correctly, drawing of blood and procedures involving needles should not result in fountains of blood. So might it be again possible that human error may cause such risks?
The story with Dr. Jenny was laughable. "Tinalsikan" was the word that the reporter used. The way it was stated that the patient seemingly purposely splattered her eyes with infected blood was ridiculous, even as she admits herself that it happened as the nurse was removing the naso-gastric tube. Clearly, it was an accident on the part of the medical personnel. It’s not like the patient aimed his squirting blood directly at her eyes on purpose. Imagine how much skill that would entail on the part of the patient.
And besides, if medical experts are indeed experts, they should know that there are proper engineering controls and work practices that reduce the risk of exposure to infected fluids. Aside from that, there is a post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP that is performed for cases of exposure to reduce the likelihood of infection. So again, is it the fault of the patient, or might medical personnel not be properly trained and informed to handle such cases?
And why single out people with HIV? Precautionary measures to avoid occupational hazards are actually similar for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne infections. Of course, I’m one of the unique cases because I have both Hepatitis B and HIV, but how about the rest who just have HIV? Why must you single them out to be feared?
And lastly, we can only talk here about those of us who actually know our HIV-positive statuses. Does this mean that you wouldn’t need to take as much precaution with those who have not declared that they are HIV-positive? Did it ever occur to you medical professionals that a great many more of us who are HIV-positive do not even know that they have the virus? Would it then make more sense to point out the need to observe a universal protocol of precaution with all patients regardless of implied, perceived, or actual HIV status?
Just some questions that run through my mind hearing this blatant report on the fear of those who are supposedly informed about medical practices and conditions. Maybe it’s time for the PGH and the DOH to start re-evaluating the challenges of caring for those living with HIV. A challenge? Again, should we be flattered that we are considered a challenge? Or does it say more about the kind of doctors we’re coming up with in this country? With all due respect, please consider that. Salamat, Doc.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Pick on the Gimmick
Wednesday saw ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol World connecting HIV with the call center industry. You’d think ABS-CBN would stop there. They didn’t. Yes, there was more.
Daily from Wednesday till Friday this past week, TV Patrol World had at least one news item on HIV. You’d think that follow-up stories on it would get better, but still there was a lot left to wish for.
This time the stereotype they painted was in connection with gimmick places in Manila. I’d heard about this random testing thingy done outside bars in Malate last year. And quite honestly, I wasn’t in full support of the project. Why? Because it was being conducted in an area patronized by the gay community. Ergo, I was pretty sure it was going to just reinforce the HIV-to-gay stereotype. Expectations met. Watch it.
Again, some points I’d like to raise on this segment.
First point:
So they say doctors encourage persons who’ve had more than one sex partner to get tested for HIV. Isn’t that insinuating that having one sex partner eliminates any risk of exposure to the virus? Even if that single sex partner does not know his or her own HIV status? Again, a risk is a risk, regardless of how small and how infrequent. Shouldn’t they be encouraging everyone who’s had unprotected sex, regardless of the number of partners, to get tested? Hmm.
Second point:
Gimmick places being connected to HIV? Well, prior to finding out I was HIV-positive, I had never ever been in any of those types of bars, bath clubs or massage parlors. But still I got infected. And even if one did frequent these places, wouldn’t that person’s lifestyle and sexual health choices matter more? So why the need to insinuate? Does this mean that if you conducted the test among those who go to Catholic Churches and diagnosed some to have HIV, we could insinuate that going to church or being Catholic predisposes you to HIV? If it was conducted in schools and some positives were discovered, would that mean that people should shun education to avoid contracting the virus? Duh.
Third point:
You really had to spell out the stereotypes, didn’t you? Homosexuals, sex workers, IV drug users, OFWs, those married to foreigners, and yuppies. If one is none of those, are you saying he or she need not get tested? HIV is no longer a foreign thing. Neither is it a gender, sexual orientation or profession thing. A risk is a risk. Period. Again, all these generalizations do is give a false sense of security to the general population. And it is this ignorance that is helping the virus spread.
Fourth point:
Jay Ruiz tested negative. It was pointed out that, yes, he still could get infected. Actually and more accurately, he still could BE infected. Remember the window period of three to six months? Reminds me of one person I chatted with who was so confident in the safety of his unprotected sex because he would test his partners prior to having sex with them. I needed to point out that there is a window period within which one could still possibly test negative even if he already had the virus. I could only wish him good luck with that.
Fifth point:
Abstinence is good. Condoms, okay… but correct and consistent use of condoms at that. Being faithful doesn’t cut it. Not if you’re faithful to someone who doesn’t know his or her own HIV status. And not if you’re faithful to someone who is exposed to the risks of contracting HIV. Be mutually faithful, AND know your statuses.
Again, a lot of points misinterpreted that will fall onto the undiscerning ears of the uninformed. Certainly, it’s totally possible that what accurate information the doctors imparted became inaccurate after being butchered and put together by the news team. So in my opinion, press releases like these should be audited by the DOH or some governing body for accuracy, after the segment has been edited, and only then should the segments be allowed to air.
With HIV, I believe it’s not a case of good and bad publicity being publicity nonetheless. It’s a huge difference between being informed, being uninformed and being misinformed.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
TV Patrolled
It was the evening of Wednesday, January 27th. I was having dinner with one of my partners for a new little business venture, when I got a text from a friend. He was a friend from years ago, with whom my friendship is less tangible than the usual. We have met a couple of times before, but we barely keep in touch. But we’re close enough that I’ve been able to disclose my HIV status to him. Nope, he was just a friend, not a fuck buddy.
“Friend, can I call you?” The last time I got a message like that from him was when he needed to ask about tulo and STDs, worried that he and his partner caught something. So honestly, I was a bit worried again this time. I took his call.
He was in the hospital. Nope, nothing I had expected, just tonsillitis. And he was doing okay. So what was up? Apparently, the problem was that his mom had watched something on the news that evening that prompted her to think and insinuate that my friend had HIV. My friend in turn got paranoid, even though he had just tested negative just this first week of January.
I had to remind him and explain again that symptoms really can’t be relied upon when it comes to HIV. And I reiterated that getting tested was the only way to know for sure whether or not someone is infected with the virus. And with that, he calmed down.
My friend's response was typical. Partida, he knew about HIV before pa. I wasn’t planning on writing about it since I didn’t watch the news myself. But fortunately, or unfortunately, I found the news clip on the web. Be prepared. Watch it yourself.
Okay. I’ve actually met the two PGH doctors personally, and actually think they’re okay. But based on the report itself, I was disappointed. Just a number of points I’d like to make.
First point:
Fine, be alarmed that your HIV cases doubled in just ten months or something. But put it in proper perspective. It’s not really that more people are getting infected. Just that more people are finding out that they are. And that’s a good thing. Could the increase in your HIV cases just be because more people are getting tested? If you don’t want the number of cases to increase, then stop testing people. I think it’s beyond positivity to be thankful that more people are getting tested.
Second point:
No need to point out which careers or professions have been trendily diagnosed with HIV. It’s an unfair and useless generalization, because anyone of any profession who takes the risk should get tested. Could it just be that it is people from these professions who are smart enough to get tested? You should worry that such sweeping generalizations will give people a false sense of security to think, “Ah, I’m not a call center agent, so I probably don’t have HIV.” Again, HIV has absolutely no respect for age, gender, sexual orientation, social class, education, or profession. A risk is a risk. Just go get tested.
Third point:
Internet aiding the spread of HIV? Poor, poor internet. Could it be possible that because sex is such a taboo for Filipinos, the only place to get information on sex is on the internet, where those who are curious about it are left to their own capacities to absorb the information, unguided by those who should know better? I have three words: SEX EDUCATION NOW. If you can blame the internet, then I blame the church, the prudes, and censorship in all forms.
Fourth point:
The symptoms. HIV symptoms?! Is it true that these so-called symptoms may still appear even without HIV? And is it true that not all who have HIV have these symptoms? DOH statistics as of latest show that of those diagnosed annually since 2004, over 80% each year are actually asymptomatic. Asymptomatic… ergo sans of symptoms. To me, 80% means your symptoms list is crap. The only way to know your HIV status is to get tested. No need to wait for the so-called symptoms... by that time, it may be too late.
Fifth point:
The possibility of 20,000 HIV-positive Filipinos by 2020? Do you mean 20,000 confirmed? Could there be a total of 20,000 as of today already HIV-positive including those who do not know their HIV-status? And is it possible that they do not know because they haven’t gotten tested, thanks to believing all the generalizations and thinking they are far from the virus?
So there. Just some questions that need to be answered. Some have been pleased about the coverage despite the misinformation, just because the topic is being discussed. They say it encourages people to think. But when misinformation is seemingly endorsed by doctors, the Philippine General Hospital, and the Department of Health itself, is it not more possible that people will take the information at face value and believe everything that is said? Should we not and can we not demand more accurate information?
More reports have been shown and more has been said since that day, but just this one report has been enough to deserve utmost attention. One big sigh. I’ve always said that I’m a true-blue Kapamilya. But right now, I’m disappointed. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Vaccine Alert!
Pardon me, but having been busy with the recent passing of my aunt and godmother, I haven't really been taking the time to blog.
But I got a number of alerts this week, mostly from fellow pozzies, about news of an HIV vaccine that had been developed. And this new vaccine news, was my cue to make a comeback.
I'll be back in a bit. For now, read more about the new HIV vaccine from the Philippine Daily Inquirer. What do you think about all this?
Rest assured, I have much more to say about this... soon.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Once, Twice, Thrice
I don’t exactly have a radar for it. But due to some funny, ridiculous, fortunate or unfortunate circumstances, I seem to always be in the right place, at the right time. Once, twice, thrice, it’s happened. Once, twice, thrice, HIV has been in the news repeatedly in the past weeks. Once, twice, thrice, the Filipino masses have been bombarded with thoughts and ideas of HIV and AIDS in the span of just a week.
Once...
Friday, the sixth of March, I just happened to passed by a little news stand on the sidewalk on the way to work. Something caught my eye. "A.I.D.S." in bold letters. AIDS?! In a tabloid headline? Hmm, not really a very common occurrence.
It was on the cover of Tempo, a tabloid, that I spotted the headline. I opted not to buy a copy and search for it online instead. I found it. Entitled "A.I.D.S. Protection", it was an article by Reuters, which told of researchers investigating glycerol monolaurate, or GML, a cheap ingredient used in ice cream, cosmetics and found in breast milk, that helps protect monkeys against infection with a virus similar to AIDS and might work to protect women against the virus.
Ashley Haase and Pat Schlievert of the University of Minnesota, who were heading the team working on the project, added that even if the if it was only 60 percent effective, such a gel containing the ingredient could prevent 2.5 million HIV cases over three years.
I know, I know. I don’t exactly fit into either of the categories of monkeys or women. But I think, the more glaring fact for me is that 60% effectiveness is already considered a success. I’m sort of hoping that people read that as a 40% chance of still getting infected. Now that SHOULD be a risk one should still NOT be willing to take. Anyways, the study is still ongoing, so let’s wait and see how things turn out.
Sadly, Tempo does not keep archives of their past issues on their website, www.tempo.com.ph, so if you want to know more about the article, I’ve saved the content.
Twice...
I think it was Wednesday night that I got home just in time to catch a segment on ABS-CBN’s early evening newscast, TV Patrol World, that talked about the increasing prevalence of HIV among returning Overseas Filipino Workers.
In the segment, they interviewed Mila, who returned to the country with HIV, after being raped repeatedly by her employer. The report goes on to say that in January alone, 20 OFWs have come back to the country HIV-positive, a third of all the diagnoses for the month.
Although the report does say that it will be more challenging for these former-OFWs to job-match locally, it does go on to show an interview with someone from the Department of Labor and Employment, or DOLE, who says they are taking action by approaching Philippine consulates in these countries, as well as supporting these former OFWs by providing skills training and support through the Technical Education Skills Development Authority, or TESDA.
I just hope this doesn’t magnify the thought that HIV is still something foreign. Remember, OFWs accounting for a third of the occurrences for January, only means that two-thirds of the month’s occurrences are local transmissions. Now that should be more alarming.
Thrice...
Yesterday again, Friday the 13th, the acronym HIV caught my eye at the news stand on the way to work. I honestly said to myself Ano na naman? It said something like "HIV CARRIER BUMULAGANG BAN..." I couldn’t make out the rest of the headline because another tabloid was covering it. I just took note of the particular tabloid from which I read it, and continued my trek to the office.
Finding it online, Abante Tonite turned out to have "HIV CARRIER BUMULAGANG BANGKAY". Geesh, who was it? Was it someone I knew? But all my excitement got doused when I read that it was an African who was found dead in his residence in Makati. Apparently, upon being asked, a friend of the victim could not confirm if HIV was the cause of death. Of course! How many times must I say that no one dies of HIV?!
HIV was really not worthy to be headlined in this case, as it just seemed to be a pathetic attempt to scandalize the situation. Very tabloidish, in the Philippine sense of the word. Read the whole story on www.abante-tonite.com.
Once, twice, thrice. Once, twice, thrice in a week that HIV has been in the news is a really amazing thing. Pathetic at times, but still amazing. If anything, the least this rare occurrence could do is get Filipinos talking about HIV and AIDS. If they aim to flesh out the true learnings in these news items, then better. But in the plain aim of awareness, might it be a case of any publicity being good publicity? Heaven knows.
