Section 2Sec./Art. 2

Declaration of policies. – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a disease that recognizes no territorial, social, political and economic boundaries for which there is no known cure. The gravity of the AIDS threat demands strong State action today, thus:

(a) The State shall promote public awareness about the causes, modes of transmission, consequences, means of prevention and control of HIV/AIDS through a comprehensive nationwide educational and information campaign organized and conducted by the State. Such campaigns shall promote value formation and employ scientifically proven approaches, focus on the family as a basic social unit, and be carried out in all schools and training centers, workplaces, and communities. This program shall involve affected individuals and groups, including people living with HIV/AIDS.

(b) The State shall extend to every person suspected or known to be infected with HIV/AIDS full protection of his/her human rights and civil liberties. Towards this end:

(1) compulsory HIV testing shall be considered unlawful unless otherwise provided in this Act;

(2) the right to privacy of individuals with HIV shall be guaranteed;

(3) discrimination, in all its forms and subtleties, against individuals with HIV or persons perceived or suspected of having HIV shall be considered inimical to individual and national interest; and

(4) provision of basic health and social services for individuals with HIV shall be assured.

(c) The State shall promote utmost safety and universal precautions in practices and procedures that carry the risk of HIV transmission.

(d) The State shall positively address and seek to eradicate conditions that aggravate the spread of HIV infection, including but not limited to, poverty, gender inequality, prostitution, marginalization, drug abuse and ignorance.

(e) The State shall recognize the potential role of affected individuals in propagating vital information and educational messages about HIV/AIDS and shall utilize their experience to warn the public about the disease.