Section 3Sec./Art. 3

Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defines as follows:

(a) Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) refers to a health condition where these is a deficiency of immune system that stems from infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV, making an individual susceptible to opportunistic infections;

(b) Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) refers to the treatment that stops or suppresses viral replication or replications of a retrovirus like HIV, thereby slowing down the progression of infection;

(c) Bullying refers to any severe or repeated use by one or more persons of a written, verbal or electronic expression, or a physical act of gesture, or any combination thereof, directed at another person that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to one's property; creating a hostile environment for the other person; infringing on the rights of another persons; or materially and substantially disrupting the processes or orderly operation of an institution or organization;

(d) Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) refer to groups of nongovernmental and noncommercial individuals or legal entities that are engaged in non-coerced collective action around shared interests, purpose and values;

(e) Community-Based Research refers to study undertaken in community settings, which involve community members in the design and implementation of research projects;

(f) Comprehensive Health Intervention for Key Populations refers to evidence-based policies, programs, and approaches that aim to reduce transmission of HIV and its harmful consequences on health, social relations and economic conditions;

(g) Compulsory HIV Testing refers to HIV testing imposed upon an individual characterized by lack of consent, use of force or intimidation, the use of testing as a prerequisite for employment or other purposes, and other circumstances when informed choice is absent;

(h) Discrimination refers to unfair or unjust treatment that distinguishes, excludes, restricts, or shows preferences based on any ground such as sex gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, economic status, disability, ethnicity, and HIV status, whether actual or perceived, and which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by all persons similarly situated, of all their rights and freedoms;

(i) Evolving Capacities of the Child refers to the concept enshrined in Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizing the developmental changes and the corresponding progress in cognitive abilities and capacity for self-determination undergone by children as they grow up, thus requiring parents and others charged with the responsibility for the child to provide varying degrees of protection, and to allow their participation in opportunities for autonomous decision-making;

(j) Gender Expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, communication or speech pattern, or body characteristics;

(k) Gender Identity refers to the personal sense of identity as characterized, among others, by manner of clothing, inclinations, and behavior in relation to masculine or feminine conventions. A person may have a male or female identity with the physiological characteristics of the opposite sex;

(l) Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) refers to juridical entities legally organized to provide or arrange for the provision of pre-agreed or designated health care services to its enrolled members for a fixed pre-paid fee for a specified period of time;

(m) High-risk Behavior refers to a person's involvement in certain activities that increase the risk of transmitting or acquiring HIV;

(n) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) refers to the virus, of the type called retrovirus, which infects cells of the human immune system, and destroys or impairs the cells' function. Infection with HIV results in the progressive deterioration of the immune system. Leading to immune deficiency;

(o) HIV Counseling refers to the interpersonal and dynamic communication process between a client and a trained counselor, who is bound by a code of ethics and practice to resolve personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties, and whose objective in counseling in the context of an HIV diagnosis is to encourage the client to anxiety and stress, plan for the future (keeping healthy, the context of a negative HIV test result, to encourage the client to explore motivations, options, and skills to stay HIV-negative;

(p) HIV and AIDS Counselor refers to any individual trained by an institution or organization accredited by the Department of Health (DOH) to provide counseling services on HIV and AIDS with emphasis on behavior modification;

(q) HIV and AIDS Monitoring refers to the documentation and analysis of the number of HIV and AIDS infections and the pattern of its spread;

(r) HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control refers to measures aimed at protecting non-infected persons from contracting HIV and minimizing the impact of the condition on persons living with HIV;

(s) HIV-Negative refers to the absence of HIV or HIV antibodies upon HIV testing;

(t) HIV-Positive refers to the presence of HIV infection as documented by the presence of HIV and HIV antibodies in the sample being tested;

(u) HIV Testing refers to any facility-based, mobile medical procedure, or community-based screening modalities that are conducted to determine the presence or absence of HIV in a person's body. HIV testing is confidential, voluntary in nature and must be accompanied by counseling prior to and after the testing, and conducted only with the informed consent of the person;

(v) HIV-related Testing refers to any laboratory testing or procedure done or an individual in relation to a person's HIV condition;

(w) HIV Testing Facility refers to any DOH accredited on-site or mobile testing center, hospital, clinic, laboratory, and other facility that has the capacity to conduct voluntary HIV counseling and HIV testing;

(x) HIV Transmission refers to the transfer of HIV from one infected person to an uninfected individual, through unprotected sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, sharing of contaminated intravenous needles, or which may occur during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding;

(y) Informed Consent refers to the voluntary agreement of a person to undergo or be subjected to a procedure based on full information, whether such permission is written or conveyed verbally;

(z) Key Affected Populations refers to those groups or persons at higher risk of HIV exposure, or affected populations whose behavior make them likely to be exposed to HIV or to transmit the virus;

(aa) Laboratory refers to an area or place, including community-based settings, where research studies are being undertaken to develop local evidence for effective HIV response;

(bb) Mature Minor Doctrine refers to the legal principle that recognizes the capacity of some minors to consent independently to medical procedures, if they have been assessed by qualified health professionals to understand the nature of procedures and their consequences to make a decision on their own;

(cc) Medical Confidentiality refers to the core duty of medical practice where the information provided by the patient to health practitioner and his/her health status is kept private and is not divulged to third parties. The patient's health status can however, be shared with other medical practitioner involved in the professional care of the patient, who will also be bound by medical confidentiality. Medical confidentiality applies to the attending physician, consulting medical specialist, nurse, medical technologist and all other health workers or personnel involved in any counseling, testing or professional care of the patient. It also applies to any person who, in any officially capacity, has acquired or may have acquired such confidential information;

(dd) Opportunistic infections refers to illnesses caused by various organism, many of which do not cause diseases in persons with healthy immune system;

(ee) Partner Notification refers to the process by which the "index client", "source", or "patient" who has a sexually transmitted infection (STI) including HIV, is given support in order to notify and advise the partners that have been exposed to infection. Support includes giving the index client a mechanism to encourage the client's partner to attend counseling, testing and other prevention and treatment services. Confidentiality shall be observed in the entire process;

(ff) Person Living with HIV (PLHIV) refers to any individual diagnosed to be infected with HIV;

(gg) Pre-exposure Prophylaxis refers to the use of prescription drugs as a strategy for the prevention of HIV infection by people who do not have the HIV and AIDS. It is an optional treatment, which may be taken by people who are HIV-negative but who have substantial, higher-than-average risk of contracting an HIV infection;

(hh) Pre-test Counseling refers to the process of providing an individual with information on the biomedical aspects of HIV AIDS, and emotional support to any psychological implications of under going HIV testing and the test result itself before the individual is subjected to the test;

(ii) Post-exposure Prophylaxis refers to a preventive medical treatment started immediately after exposure to pathogen(HIV) in order to prevent infection by the pathogen and the development of the disease;

(jj) Post-test Counseling refers to the process of providing risk-reduction information and emotional support to a person who submitted to HIV testing at the time the result is released;

(kk) Prophylactic refers to any agent or device used to prevent the transmission of an infection;

(ll) Provider-initiated Counseling and Testing refers to a health care provider initiating HIV testing to a person practicing high-risk behavior or vulnerable to HIV after conducting HIV pre-test counseling. A person may elect to decline or defer testing such that consent is conditional;

(mm) Redress refersto an act of compensation for unfairness, grievance, and reparation;

(nn) Safer Sex Practices refers to choices made and behaviors adopted by a person to reduce or minimize the risk of HIV transmission. These may include postponing sexual debut, non-penetrative sex, correct and consistent use of made or female condoms. And reducing the number of sexual partners;

(oo) Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) refers to infections that are spread through the transfer of organisms from one person to another as a result of sexual contact;

(pp) Sexual Orientation refers to the direction of emotional, sexual attraction, or conduct towards people of the same sex (homosexual orientation) or towards people of both sexes (bisexual orientation) or towards people of the opposite sex (heterosexual orientation) or to the absence of sexual attraction (asexual orientation);

(qq) Social Protection refers to a set of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor markets, diminishing people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against hazards, and interruptions on, or loss of income;

(rr) Stigma refers to the dynamic devaluation and dehumanization of an individual in the eyes of others, which may be based on attributes that are arbitrarily defined by others as discreditable or unworthy, and which results in discrimination when acted upon;

(ss) Treatment hubs refer to private and public hospitals or medical establishments accredited by the DOH to have the capacity and facility to provide treatment and care services to PLHIV;

(tt) Voluntary HIV testing refers to HIV testing done on an individual who, after having undergone pre-test counseling willingly submits to such test;

(uu) Vulnerable communities refer to the communities and groups suffering from vulnerabilities such as unequal opportunities, social exclusion, poverty, unemployment, and other similar social exclusion, poverty, unemployment, and other similar social economic, cultural and political conditions making them more susceptible to HIV infection and to developing AIDS; and

(vv) Workplace refers to the office, premise or work site where workers are habitually employed and shall include the office or place where workers, with no fixed or definite work site, regularly report for assignment in the course of their employment.

ARTICLE I

THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL AIDS COUNCIL