Justice dep’t urged to apologize to Fil-Aussie theater director

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said Thursday the Department of Justice (DoJ), which oversees the Bureau of Immigration, must issue a public apology to Filipino-Australian theater director Marcelino “Mars” Cavestany for placing him on the immigration blacklist for being HIV positive.

“To prevent the repetition of this odious practice, the Department of Justice, as the department primarily responsible for overseeing the Bureau of Immigration (BI), must institute concrete measures to… issue an official apology to Mr. Cavestany,” CHR chairperson Loretta Rosales said in a statement.

Rosales also said the DoJ should investigate and penalize those responsible for discriminating against Cavestany and institute measures to adopt clear guidelines on immigration exclusion.

Rosales said the CHR was dismayed and deeply alarmed by the incident. She noted that Cavestany had been blacklisted as early as March 10, 2010, and that the order was implemented when he returned to the country early this month.

“Clearly, the refusal of entry of Mr. Cavestany at NAIA [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] last 6 March 2011 for the reason that he is HIV positive is unacceptable and illegal. The reason stated in [former immigration chief Marcelino] Libanan’s exclusion order that he might spread HIV is as ignorant as it is speculative,” she said.

Cavestany flew in Sunday night at NAIA from Darwin, Australia, but was stopped by immigration agents who disallowed him from exiting the terminal. He was later taken to a hospital when he complained of fatigue.

Cavestany said he was shown the blacklist order, which stated that he should not be allowed entry as he could spread HIV.

The BI on Wednesday ordered the lifting of the travel ban against.