PR-Doh Sec Urges AIDS population to vote for Statehood

Several groups that advocate for the HIV /AIDS population reported Tuesday Health Secretary Lorenzo Gonzalez Feliciano, urged them to vote for statehood if they wanted to keep their medicines and other program benefits.

Ivette Gonzalez, spokeswoman for several groups of HIV patients, brought an excerpt of a recording to WKAQ Radio in which the health chief urged them at a recent meeting to vote for statehood

"Vote for statehood and you will have the same rights. The current health program gives you nothing but crumbs," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez Feliciano said his comment was "totally misquoted and taken out of context."

Gonzalez decried that Mi Salud program does not cover a drug recently approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration .

He said that although Frank Diaz Gines, director of the Health Insurance Administration said in a recent meeting that he agreed to include these drugs in Mi Salud, the owner asked him not to commit until they do a financial analysis.

"Frank Diaz Gines has shown that he did not made decisions in ASES," said Gonzalez who also chairs the ASES Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, the gubernatorial candidate for the Popular Democratic Party Alejandro Garcia Padilla, branded the Health secretary's words an act of "insensitivity,, corruption and lies."

Garcia Padilla demanded the secretary's immediate resignation, claiming there is no justification for his recorded words.

"The expressions in that recording are unacceptable, undermine human dignity and denote another act of insensitivity towards AIDS patients on the part of the government party," he said. "The governor should apologize in public to the HIV patient population for the expressions of his subordinate," said Garcia Padilla while recalling that is not the first time an NPP government official has shown insensitivity with this population (HIV) by reference to the corruption scandals in the Institute of AIDS in the 90's.The insensitivity of this government has reached unprecedented levels, and the Secretary has crossed the line."

"The use of his position for political campaigning during working hours is a form of corruption. The government should provide the services concerned with the patient and much-needed stability to the system."