Twenty-five military personnel who lost their arms and legs in combat operations were given a new lease on life after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gifted them with new prosthetics.
Gen. Gilbert Gapay, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), led Thursday the turnover of new metal prostheses to the military amputees currently confined at V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City.
"The AFP salutes our battle casualties for the heroism they exemplified in the performance of their duties. While the prostheses do not amount to their exemplary act of sacrifice, I hope that it will help them ease back into their everyday lives," Gapay said.
The activity was part of a military program spearheaded by Gapay to address the mental health needs of all AFP personnel.
Earlier in the day, Gapay graced the culmination of a nine-day mental health training of trainers that sought to help military personnel who are facing "invisible adversaries."
Gapay lauded the Office of The Surgeon General (OTSG) after the completion of the mental health training program as he acknowledged the pressing need to address mental health issues within their rank.
"The efforts of our Mental Health Team from the OTSG are manifestations of solidarity with those who are facing an invisible adversary that has long been misunderstood, and that has brought suffering not just to the men and women in the service, but also to their loved ones," Gapay said.
A total of 28 military and civilian psychiatrists, psychologists, chaplains, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and AFP-allied health workers participated in a series of seminars and workshops on stress debriefing, trauma counseling, and psychological first aid.
The training is part of the AFP's mental health program which is "an organized and integrated approach towards the establishment of mental crisis prevention and intervention strategies."
Gapay said the program aims to "conserve and safeguard the fighting strength of the military personnel and the organization as a whole."
It was pushed by Gapay after the killing of former Corporal Winston Ragos last year, a retired soldier who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while he was in active service. He was shot dead by the police after a heated argument in a quarantine checkpoint in Quezon City.
"Hopefully, the pool of multi-disciplinary members in the form of our current AFP Mental Health Team will help us achieve and implement a holistic approach in attending to the mental health needs, issues, and concerns not only of our military troops and civilian resource, but also of their families," Gapay said.
The military chief expressed support to the mental health team as he acknowledged the difficulty of their job in ensuring a holistic approach to attend to the mental health needs, issues, and concerns of all military personnel.
"Our competencies are not limited to what we have only learned in the past. Our ability to reach down to the smallest unit of our organization to promote mental health will undoubtedly make a difference," he said.
Gapay assured all military personnel that the AFP will continue to address their mental health needs so they can continue performing their sworn duty of protecting the people and securing the state.
"Let us embark on this battle united. We must find ways – innovate, integrate, and unite for us to heal from within, for us to be stronger as an organization highly trusted by its people to be the first and last bastion of hope in crises both natural and manmade. Let us give them the best we got," Gapay said.