Anti-HIV advocates are taking a more aggressive stance in fighting the spread of the disease by encouraging all individuals at risk to have themselves tested for the virus without fear or shame.

HIV treatment is now widely available through local treatment hubs and having the virus is not necessarily a death sentence, lawyer Carlo Alcala, board member of the Positive Action Foundation Philippines, Inc. (PAFPI) said.

In the past, people who were tested positive for the virus may have felt the strings of death early on.

Today, it is different as People Living with HIV (PLHIV) could lead a normal life if they adhere to the Anti-Retroviral drug (ARV) treatment available in treatment hubs located in several hospitals such as  in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and in San Lazaro Hospital (SLH), among others.

Jerico Paterno, 35, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2005 now heads a group supporting PLHIV while living normally, enjoying almost all the perks as everyone else.

But it was not easy for him to accept his fate in the beginning.

“In 2005, I was an overseas Filipino worker in Dubai and I had to renew my medical card. We underwent tests that included HIV test. It was then that I found out that I was positive for HIV,” he said.

“There was not even a pre-test and post-test counseling so at first, I felt depressed. I did not know where to go. I was afraid of how my parents would react if they learn about my situation,” he said.

Paterno said he made a “little experiment” and told a close friend about his condition.

His friend accepted the news without judgment, he said.

But it did not stop there. The next challenge, he said, was mustering enough courage to tell his parents.

“I was afraid of rejection. But I told them anyway. My father was the one who had so many questions.

My mother was just quiet. But as time went by, they were able to accept everything. My father became my number one supporter. He always reminds me to drink my ARV,” Paterno said.

Paterno was only able to access ARV treatment in 2007 because he did not know how to access the drugs at first.

Today, his group reaches out to patients in hospitals telling them the good news that ARVs are available for free. Pinoy Plus Association is made up of 110 members who are all PLHIVs.

ARVs do not cure HIV but merely suppress the multiplication of the virus that compromises the immune system of the patient making them susceptible to “opportunistic” diseases such as  Tuberculosis and Crypto meningitis, Dr. Edsel Maurice T. Salvana, PGH HIV/AIDS, said.

There is no single face that could represent a PLHIV, Alcala said.

But he said it is important for PLHIVs to listen to people who give words of wisdom and encouragement in facing life.

“If you believe in stigmatization, you yourself will initiate the stigma. It is not just the society that will stigmatize you… it is important for a person who was diagnosed for HIV to have family support,” he said.

“As much as we want to mainstream our efforts to erase the notions on HIV, we do not advise all our clients and peer educators to confess their condition to the whole world. There are already many PLHIVs who came out to put a face to the disease,” Alcala said.

But in combating the stigma attached to the disease, the advocates agree Filipinos need more education and awareness about HIV and AIDS.