Lawyer Jonathan Baltar, jail superintendent of the Mandaue City Jail, says these 17 persons deprived or liberty or inmates were recorded to have gotten human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) before they were brought to the facility. | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — At least 17 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) or inmates in the Mandaue City Jail were positive of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Lawyer Jonathan Baltar, jail superintendent, said that 15 of the 17 PDLs were from the Male Dormitory while the two others were females.
PDLs acquired HIV outside jail
Baltar clarified that the HIV cases that they had so far recorded were acquired by the PDLs before they were brought to the facility.
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These were only detected after they were subjected to HIV testing during their transfer to the city jail.
He said that the HIV testing was voluntary but no one had refused so far.
Baltar said they did not have HIV cases last year.
The Mandaue City Jail has almost 1,700 PDLs.
READ: Central Visayas records 190 new HIV cases from Jan – Mar 2021
Mandaue City Jail: HIV cases manageable
“Ang HIV cases nato are very manageable considering nga 1,650 ka Persons Deprived of Liberty (ta) at present,” said Baltar.
(The HIV cases we have here are very manageable considering that at present, we have 1,650 persons deprived of liberty.)
He said that they had been conducting HIV awareness to all inmates and were constantly monitoring those who were positive of the virus.
READ: Central Visayas records over 700 HIV/AIDS cases as of Sept.
HIV info drive
The city government is also conducting regular HIV testing and Information Education Campaign (IEC).
Some of their health officers were also able to join the training at the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in September 2022.
Moreover, Baltar said that all PDLs and jail officers who were subjected to a surpise drug test on March 23 by their regional office’s health officers, had tested negative.
According to the Department of Health in a recent report, HIV is a kind of virus that attacks the immune system, and if it is left untreated it will lead to AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
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