Dear PAO,
I am seeking your legal advice about my friend’s predicament. Sometime in January 2026, he underwent a routine company health check-up and was diagnosed as HIV positive. Upon learning of the medical findings, his employer sent him a notice informing him of his termination due to possible adverse effects to his fellow employees. May I know if the company was correct in abruptly dismissing his employment on account of his alleged diagnosis as HIV positive? Thank you and more power!
Armani
Dear Armani,
The answer to your query can be found in Republic Act (RA) 11166, also known as the "Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act,” which was passed into law on 20 December 2018. Article 49 (a) of the same Act explicitly laid down the prohibition on workplace discrimination based on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, whether actual, perceived, or suspected. The pertinent provision of the law states:
“SEC. 49. Discriminatory Acts and Practices. – The following discriminatory acts and practices shall be prohibited:
"(a) Discrimination in the Workplace. - The rejection of job application, termination of employment, or other discriminatory policies in hiring, provision of employment and other related benefits, promotion or assignment of an individual solely or partially on the basis of actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status.”
Given this, an employer may not terminate an employee on the ground that the latter is afflicted with the HIV syndrome.
This prohibition on workplace discrimination is consistent with the constitutional guarantee to protect labor and ensure equality on employment opportunities to all workers, whether employed locally or overseas.
The same law finds application in the case of Bison Management Corporation vs. AAA* and Dale P. Pernito, [G.R. No. 256540,14 February 2024, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa], where the Supreme Court upheld the Philippine law which prohibits the use of a person's HIV condition as a ground for dismissal despite that the employee’s work location overseas permits termination on the same basis. An excerpt from the Decision reads:
“Even if it were truly "undeniable" and "it is all over the internet" that Saudi Arabia does not allow persons who test positive for HIV to work there, as Bison claims, the Court had already settled in Pakistan International Airlines Corp. v. Ople (Pakistan International Airlines) that if the foreign law stipulated is contrary to law, morals, good customs, public order, or public policy, then Philippine laws shall govern. xxx
"Section 49(a) of Republic Act No. 11166 makes it unlawful for an employee to be terminated from work on the sole basis of their HIV status:
"SEC. 49. Discriminatory Acts and Practices. – The following discriminatory acts and practices shall be prohibited:
"(a) Discrimination in the Workplace. – The rejection of job application, termination of employment, or other discriminatory policies in hiring, provision of employment and other related benefits, promotion or assignment of an individual solely or partially on the basis of actual, perceived, or suspected HIV status[.]
"The CA correctly ruled that since Philippine law "categorically prohibits the use of a person's HIV+ condition as a ground for dismissal... the inescapable conclusion is that there was no valid cause to terminate [AAA], and that doing so is tantamount to illegal dismissal."
Therefore, applying the foregoing in this case, the employer is incorrect in instantly dismissing your friend’s employment on account of his HIV positive status.
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.
Thank you for your continued trust and support.
