DOH chief wants to block porn sites

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial wants to block pornographic websites in the country as a measure to curb the spread of HIV-AIDS especially among the youth.

In an interview with The STAR during the Dangerous Drugs Summit here yesterday, Ubial said she is no longer pushing the distribution of condoms among senior high school students, a measure seen to prevent the spread of HIV-AIDS among the youth.

“It was only an option raised for consideration,” she explained.

Instead, Ubial said she would just push for the government to undertake measures to ensure that pornographic websites do not get into the country’s internet system on the assumption that pornography accessed on smartphones encourages promiscuous behavior in the youth.

“I will support anything that can curb the spread of HIV-AIDS,” she added.

Ubial also said she is considering the distribution of print materials showing actual photos of people with sexually transmitted diseases as another deterrent to sexual promiscuity among the youth.