DOH to submit list of mentally-ill govt workers to agencies
The Philippinesâ health department will soon be tasked to provide agencies with a list of government workers suffering from mental illnesses. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita made this announcement on Wednesday, reacting to earlier reports that as much as a third of government employees are suffering from various kinds of mental disorders. âWe would ask the DOH [Department of Health] to give the names of all agencies which mean including Malacañang. Napakahalaga talaga niyanâ¦[That is so important] That is something that we have to look into," Ermita said. âI think the agencies concerned shall get a report from the DOH [Department of Health] and find out who are the personnel in their departments who may have such, who may be discovered to have some problemâ¦para sa ganun mapagaralan kung ano ang gagawin sa kanila [to determine what can be done to help them]," he added. Those found manifesting symptoms of mental disorder would not result in dismissal unless the âserious infirmity" could affect oneâs performance, he added. On Tuesday, a report made by the DOH and the Philippine Psychiatric Association said that 30 percent of government workers suffered either from mental and other family-related problems. At least, the report showed that there were no employees with âserious mental problems," Ermita added. They may just be depressed, stressed, or experiencing emotional problems, he said. - RJAB Jr./GMANews.TV