The Commission on Human Rights Regional Office VI condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent display of discrimination committed against health practitioners and health care workers. Any form of discrimination committed and conveyed through actions, deeds or printed material published on print or through social media, under the present circumstances, is unacceptable and must be dealt with the full force of the law.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including … medical care”. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights further provides in Article 12 that everyone has the right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health. This provision calls for undertaking to guarantee the right to health in a non-discriminatory manner for everyone – patients and medical workers alike.

The recent spate of news stories and online posting of medical and health workers being discriminated against because of possible exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 or simply the CoVID19 virus is very disheartening. Some claim they have been refused rides on public utility vehicles, denied service in restaurants, evicted by landlords and being shunned away. Rejected and avoided! Being our frontliners in the war against a very deadly infection they should be hailed as heroes for some of them have already died laying their lives so that others can live. Without them who will take care of those among us who may fall victims to a vicious and deadly yet invisible enemy?

The Commission on Human Rights VI commends and thanks those unnamed and selfless donors who continue to help in one way or another and provide for the needs of our medical and frontline workers tasked to combat and contain the spread of the disease. We in CHR VI also commend our local officials for their prompt and appropriate response.

We urge the Department of Health to strengthen the information dissemination on the CoVID19 among the populace because ignorance creates more fear and fear can ultimately be more dangerous than the virus itself;

We call on our Local Government Leaders, the Local Sanggunians to pass ordinances penalizing business establishments that refuse to cater to the needs of medical workers, frontline service providers and all those involved in the fight against the CoVID19 virus;

We appeal to government regulatory agencies to strengthen their watch and sanction, with the full force of the law, those who were granted franchises or privileges to operate business ventures yet abused such to discriminate against those they are supposed to serve;

We call on the Department of the Interior and Local Government to investigate allegations of discrimination committed by barangay officials against health workers; and

Finally, we call upon those who felt that by the act of someone – whose words or deeds, you perceived to be a form of discrimination, to file your complaint before any investigative agency of the government, to include the Commission on Human Rights for appropriate redress of your grievances.

These are times when we should work together, sacrifice together and stand as one in a war for our survival.