pro 6 By Jennifer P. Rendon
At any phase of a person’s life – childhood, adolescent, and adulthood – mental health, while underrated, is deemed important.
And even the PNP recognized the importance of mental health as it started to roll out programs relative to the matter.
In Western Visayas, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) on Monday launched the Mental Health C.A.R.E. (Continuous Awareness Response Evaluation) program on Monday, February 15, at the Regatta Hotel in Iloilo City.
Brigadier General Rolando Miranda, Western Visayas police chief, led the launching program, which saw the participation of 90 personnel from the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO).
Miranda has cited that he has two priorities for PRO-6: the accomplishment of the organization’s mission; and taking good care of the morale and welfare of the personnel, which will include mental health.
The Mental Health C.A.R.E. program is a proactive approach initiated by PRO-6, in response to PNP chief General Debold Sinas’ directive to conduct psychological evaluation of personnel after the shooting incident involving a police officer in Paniqui, Tarlac.
Mental health encompasses a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Spearheaded by the Regional Health Service 6 (RHS-6) Neuropsychiatry Section, the program aims to assess and re-evaluate the psychological wellness of every PRO6 personnel.
“This is to ensure that our police officers are emotionally and psychologically stable in the performance of their duty,” Miranda said.
The Mental Health C.A.R.E will have three phases.
The first part is the administration of the psychological screening test. The second phase will involve the lecture and activity on anger materials. The last part will be the distribution of IEC materials,
Once the participants complete the three parts of the activity, the camp psychologist will evaluate the overall result of the screening test.
The remarks and recommendation will be treated with utmost confidentiality. These will then be forwarded to the office of the Regional Director for proper disposition.
The activity will be conducted regularly. It would also target the remaining 13,000 PRO-6 personnel based on the schedule set by the RHS-6 neuro-psychiatric section.
“Let us remember, there is no health without mental health,” Miranda said, as he encouraged his personnel to cooperate in this activity and ensure mental health for all.
