March 2, 2010


The Provincial Health Office, pursuant to Gov. Vilma Santos’ “Kalusugan mo, No. 1 sa puso ko,” hosted the first of a series of Advocacy on the Prevention and Control of Sexually-Transmissible Infections/HIV-AIDS for Batangas colleges and universities last March 1, 2010 at the provincial auditorium.

Participated in by students from the University of Batangas, Lyceum of the Philippines-Batangas, Golden Gate Colleges and Lipa City Colleges, the educational seminar was highlighted with the testimony of an HIV-positive patient, who openly talked about his condition.
 
Humphrey Gorriceta, who tested positive in 2008, is among the first Filipinos infected with the still-incurable infection to fully come out in the open.  He said that he did it to help inform the public about the dreaded disease, and what to do to prevent its further spread.  He is currently an HIV-AIDS advocate and volunteer counsellor for the DoH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Gov. Vilma Santos Recto, in her message, emphasized the importance of being responsible when it comes to sex, and that conscientious families should give importance to the matter.  Santos Recto, who starred in the 1993 blockbuster movie, Dahil Mahal Kita (The Dolzura Cortez Story), about the first Filipino AIDS victim who came out in the open to tell about her life and how she acquired the AIDS virus, herself gave a short lecture on HIV-AIDS, underscoring her knowledge on the sensitive topic.  She also asked the student-attendees to relay the things they learned to their families, friends and community members.

Prov. Health Officer, Dr. Rosvilinda Ozaeta, and Ms. Ana Liza Abrenica, a registered nurse of the provincial government and the STI/HIV-AIDS Program Manager, led the discussions on the subject matter.  - Vince Altar