Manila to Require AIDS Check of Foreign Visitors

Foreigners including businessmen, sailors and U.S. troops must obtain certificates showing they are free of the AIDS virus before they can stay in the Philippines, the government said today.

The order, which takes effect Monday, requires all merchant sailors to present AIDS-free certificates regardless of how long they plan to remain in the Philippines.

Other foreigners must prove they are free of the virus if they want to stay longer than six months, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

It added that details of the regulation covering U.S. troops and dependents would be worked out in talks with American authorities.

The regulation was issued in compliance with an order by the Commission on Immigration and Deportation banning foreigners with “loathsome or dangerous and contagious diseases.”

Immigration officials said the order was issued to prevent the spread of the deadly disease in a country where prostitution is widespread.

Some health officials have criticized the plan as ineffective. They say foreigners admitted for short periods could spread AIDS because they would not be required to prove they are free of the disease.

Immigration Commissioner Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she did not include short-term residents or tourists in the order because the move could lead to reprisals against Filipino tourists by other nations.

According to the Department of Health, more than 50 people in the Philippines--most of them bar girls working near U.S. military bases --have been identified as carrying the AIDS virus.