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The Manila Manifesto 2001
Last November 28, 2001, Positive Action Philippines, Inc with support from the Ford Foundation has conducted the First National Consultative and Consensus Meeting with Filipino People Living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) held in Grand Boulevard Hotel Roxas Boulevard Manila. Close to a hundred PHAs from all walks of life have attended the said meeting. Both GO-and NGOs working on HIV/AIDS care and support services representatives have helped in the facilitation of the said workshop. Agencies such as Pinoy Plus Association, Remedios AIDS Foundation, AIDS Society of the Philippines, Lunduyan (CPAP), and DOH-Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC).
On the last day, Honorable Secretary Manolito Dayrit grace said Celebration very timely for the signing of the drafted MANILA MANIFESTO in time for World AIDS Day. The MANILA MANIFESTO is as follows:
"We, Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS, coming from all regions of the country and from all different walks of life, have attended the First National Consultative and Consensus Meeting with Filipino Living with HIV/AIDS on Access to Treatment, held in Manila from 28 November - 1 December 2001. We are honored together for the first time in the history of the response to AIDS in the Philippines and to speak with all people, who face the devastating effects of the disease.
We are your brothers, your sisters, your parents, your children, your friends, your neighbors. We are your fellow citizens. We want to contribute fully to the development of the country and our society, but the disease and especially societal attitudes towards the disease prevent us from living our lives to the full. Despite the enactment of Republic Act No. 8504, which aims to protect us and to guarantee our rights, its full implementation is lacking."
"We still do not have access to affordable and effective medication, including anti retroviral therapies, nor do we have access to quality care which would improve the quality of our lives and which would extend our lives. The government has no programs on anti retroviral therapies. The few who can avail themselves of treatment have done so through individual effort. There is no assurance of sustainability."
As a result of our status we face unfair discrimination in the workplace, in schools, in health care settings. Our personal dignity and privacy are often breached by unlawful disclosures of our medical status.
"We face stigmatization in our families, communities and by the people who are deciding on our fate. Our churches fail in their mission to provide spiritual support and guidance to us, thereby hindering our integration into society. Bureaucratic processes cruelly impact on expeditious care and access to benefits to which all Filipinos are entitled. But we also have those support us and provide invaluable moral support, without which our lives would be so much more difficult and hard."
"We acknowledge those in our families, in our communities, as well as the so few health care workers who are not intimidated by our status, who share our burden every day, showing that our lives are important and have significance. Their support and understanding fill our lives."
We have reached consensus on the following issues:
Our rights to dignify and personal autonomy must be respected, which include the right to confidentiality, the right to form relationship, found a family and reproduction, based upon full information in order to make better choices on our care, the medication we take and as participants in clinical trials.
Our government needs to give urgent attention to securing affordable, accessible treatments , including anti retroviral therapy, and alternative and complementary treatments. Quality care and counseling, including basic health and laboratory services, must be ensured.
Full recognition, respect and implementation of our human rights as described in the Constitution and Republic Act No. 8504, which right include the right to gainful employment regardless of our HIV status, so that we can take charge of our lives and not be a burden to society. As a result, employment for Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS must be actively sought. The rights of workers, specially migrant workers, are seriously affected by mandatory HIV testing policies, which contravene the purpose of the spirit of the Republic Act No. 8504, and have shown to be not good public health policy. Similarly, all nationwide, including those relating burial, must comply with the provisions of the said Act.
The development of insurance schemes for Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS must be fast tracked. The government and other stakeholders must review existing policies, including those relating to migrant workers and their surviving beneficiaries, in order to alleviate undue hardship.
Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS must be involved and actively encouraged to participate in all aspects of the National AIDS Program. including its formulation, implementation, review, monitoring and evaluation.
The provision of education, support and life-skills training programs for children and orphans affected by HIV/AIDS need to be developed and implemented.
The need for counseling cannot be over-emphasized. Counseling programs need to be reviewed and adapted to our needs to be more responsive and better quality. Counseling must be provided beyond the pre-and post-test stage and extended along the continuum of care for both infected and affected persons. Families as the primary group of support must be included in counseling programs.
Our government needs to play a much more proactive and leadership role in its response to all matters related to the safety and well being of all people. Strong political commitment is seriously lacking. Current epidemiological data does not reflect the reality that we experience in our work as educators and caregivers. The role of the Philippine National AIDS Council should be strengthened and more resources allocated and better managed in order to respond to an increasing epidemic. All programs should be conducted countrywide at all levels. Fully functional HIV/AIDS Core Teams, responsive to the growing needs for care necessitated by the epidemic, must be established in all public and private hospitals.
National education, information and media campaigns must raise awareness, promote a positive image and help create a more enabling social environment.
We solemnly undertake to:
Lie positively and responsibly both towards ourselves and to others.
Continue to strive to be full members of our communities and our society
Continue to play an active role in education, advocacy, care and support in order to enhance our lives and the lives of our fellow citizens
Bring the voice of those infected, affected and those stigmatized in our society such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and drug users, to the multi-sectoral response to HIV/AIDS
Continue to strive for improvement of the quality of life of our brothers and sisters infected ad affected by this disease
Mobilize and works together to ensure better coordination and communication between stakeholders and key players
" We further solemnly undertake to convene regular consensus meetings with Filipinos living with HIV/AIDS to monitor and assess our progress, to respond to emerging needs and to develop future plans of action. "
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