ARMY chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr has ordered a review of the Army’s mental health programs following last Saturday’s shooting spree inside a military camp in Cagayan de Oro City, which left five soldiers dead and another injured.
In an interview at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, Brawner said the shooting at Camp Evangelista was a “very sad” and “unfortunate” incident.
Private Johmar Villabito, of the Army’s Service Support Battalion, went on a shooting rampage, killing Sgt. Rogelio Rojo Jr, Cpl. Bernard Rodrigo, Pfc. Prince Kevin Balaba and Pvt. Joseph Tamayo, and wounding S/Sgt. Braulio Macalos Jr.
Villabito then barged into another room where two soldiers — Pvt. Mark Anthony Aguined and Pfc. Josiah Estrada — wrestled with him to secure his rifle. Aguined later fatally shot Villabito.
“I already ordered an honest-to-goodness assessment of our mental health programs. We already have mental health programs in the Philippine Army but my question is are these being implemented properly by our units?” said Brawner.
Brawner said another issue the Army is looking into is the process of recruiting soldiers. He said recruits must pass neuro-psychiatric examination.
“One thing that we are looking into also is on the proper recruitment procedures for our new recruits. We have to make sure that all of them will pass the neuro-psychiatric examination,” said Brawner.
But Brawner acknowledged that soldiers, even if they the pass neuro-psychiatric examination, will be exposed to trauma in the performance of their duties.
