Nina CHITO CHAVEZ at ROBERT R. REQUINTINA
Nagpahayag ng pagsisisi ang Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sa pagsasapubliko na isa sa mga inarestong suspek sa buy-bust operation sa isang hotel ay may Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS).
“PDEA has expressed regret in the inadvertent mention during a recent press conference that one of the suspects, though his identity was withheld, is infected with HIV. We may have gone overboard by violating his right to privacy,” sabi ni PDEA Director General Aaron N Aquino.
Nitong Nobyembre 26, inaresto ng PDEA-SES operatives ang 11 lalaki na pawang hinihinalang drug personalities kasunod ng buy-bust operation sa loob ng Room 609 ng Seda Hotel, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City.
Nakuha sa operasyon ang umano’y ecstasy, shabu at gamma butyrolactone (GBL), isang mapanganib na droga.
Sa isang pahayag, iniulat ng PDEA na ang grupo ay nahuli sa aktong nag-male-to-male sex party.
“During the operation, one suspect admitted that he is HIV positive after yielding to authorities a bottle of medication supposedly for treatment of the disease,” ani Aquino.
Sinabi ni Aquino na hindi intensiyon ng ahensiya na maging insensitive at mapanghusga laban sa mga taong may HIV.
Kaugnay nito, binatikos kahapon ni 2015 Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ang PDEA sa pagsasapubliko at pamamahiya sa 11 lalaki.
Sa isang Instagram post, nanawagan si Wurtzbach sa mga tao na huwag maging mapanghusga.
“Their mugshots, names, and the HIV status of one of them were released. Was this really necessary? I understand that what the men were supposedly doing was illegal and they should face legal consequences;
“But there was absolutely no need to expose and publicly shame them. It’s illegal to publicly announce one’s HIV status (RA8504),” post ng Filipino-German beauty queen.