Caraga cops go from drug to HIV testing

CAMP COL. RAFAEL C. RODRIGUEZ, Butuan City — Aside from the requirement of random drug testing, the officers and men of Northeastern Mindanao Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) have also undergone Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) awareness sessions and testing in an effort to make the command healthy and be aware of the diseases confronting the society nowadays.

On Friday, 77 uniformed and nonuniformed personnel of PRO 13 underwent the free HIV testing to also promote awareness and encourage more people to get tested.

The activity, dubbed as “Camp Rafael HIV Testing Day” and with the theme “I’m a member of the PNP; I am brave to take HIV test,” was initiated by the PRO13 Press Corps in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH)-Caraga Region 13 and the Palliative and Wellness Care Center of Butuan Medical Center and City Health Office.

Joy Dyana Cervantes, HIV Program Coordinator of DOH Caraga Region 13, reported on the alarming increase of HIV cases in the Philippines and in Caraga. She also disclosed that a total of 430 persons living with HIV had been recorded in Caraga alone, as of October 2017.

Chief Supt. Carlos L. Lozano, PRO 13 Deputy Regional Director for Administration, took the challenge and was the first to undergo the test. He also thanked the PRO13 Press Corps and its partners for the first ever HIV testing conducted at the regional headquarters.