Medical findings revealed that Police Staff Sergeant Brando Maranan died of “acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock” or heart attack.
PRO 7 Director Roderick Augustus Alba then mandated the head of the Philippine National Police Regional Medical and Dental Unit to check the medical condition of all police personnel in the region.
He also called on all chiefs of police to instruct them to monitor the physical condition, as well as mental health of their respective personnel.
This also stemmed from a report that another police officer committed suicide inside the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 7 camp in the past week.
As for Maranan, Alba said he could not believe that the police officer died in the middle of the training.
He urged police officers to have themselves checked and to keep themselves healthy, stressing that they have a responsibility to enforce the laws of the land.
He said those who are not healthy, both physically and mentally, could not perform their duties well.
“Let’s keep ourselves healthy and mentally, fit all the time because we have this responsibility of enforcing the law, so kung hindi proper mental and physical fitness, we cannot execute our law enforcement duties well,” said Alba.
Nursing graduates
Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy city director for administration of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that on the part of the CCPO, they have been monitoring the health of their personnel.
He said each police station in Cebu City has personnel who are nursing graduates and are tasked to monitor the health of the other members.
He added that this monitoring started when the number of Covid-19 cases spiked in 2020, prompting them to assign all police personnel who have medical backgrounds to form the station health unit.
“Their job is to monitor those who have fever, as well as their blood pressure. We have a station health unit for anything medical-related. They are all nursing graduates and registered nurses,” Parilla said.
He added that they also have zumba sessions to help their members, especially those assigned at offices, stay fit.
The CCPO also launched the City Director’s Cup, a sports program where police personnel can play basketball or volleyball.
Parilla admitted that many police personnel in Cebu City have gained weight because of stress and the lack of regular exercise. Thus they have brought back their fitness and sports programs to keep them fit. (AYB / LMY)