MY near death experience (NDE) last April 9 awakened me not only to the importance of staying healthy to do what we love to do but also the lack of a more realistic health program for workers to be effective in their job whether they are in government or the private sector. For those in government who take their job seriously, government service is such a stressful job that requires a well-placed health program especially for those who occupy supervisory and managerial positions. Efficient managers and supervisors are often poor stress managers. Yes, they manage to produce results and meet quotas and deadliness but they also allow stress to manage them. In the end only their spirit is left willing but their body is too weak or too sick to get up. In more extreme cases, their bodies have to be brought to the hospital or in a most unfortunate scenario, to the funeral parlor. My teacher in Latin used to tell our class Mens sana in corpore sano. A sound mind in a sound body. One needs a healthy body in order to have an alert mind. But in most instances, people become preoccupied with the accomplishment of their goals and objectives more than having the best means to accomplish them.

Everyone knows that Superman or Captain Barbel is just in the movies or komiks, yet many would like to think that they are one and start acting like one. I am not saying that this is bad but acting like one could actually put one in serious physical and mental danger. It is said that health is wealth and, indeed, government is not wanting in prescribing physical fitness programs for its employees. There is the Hataw and the Sports programs but these are honored more by ignoring than in complying with them. Like in many programs that do not result in direct economic benefit, these programs are only good up to their launching. Or if they are complied at all, compliance is far in between. Some offices manage to pool their resources and put up a gym but how many would care to go to the gym after office hours? Workers would rather go straight to their watering holes where only their bellies get big. The idea of a gym does not attract many enthusiasts because, again, of the idea that it is for those who would like to have bodies like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They forget that the gym is also, and primarily, a physical fitness place where one does not need to build muscles in order to get fit but for wellness.

And then if we talk of hospitalization and sickness benefits, we can only name Philhealth Insurance where regular employees are having mandatory deductions every month to be covered. Other health care programs are optional and are left to the discretion and initiative of the workers. Philhealth is good but again there are limits to what it can provide in terms of coverage because the premium payment is only more than P100 a month. So that when one becomes ill with a more serious or catastrophic illness or disease, chances are he would go to the loan sharks to meet his medical bills.

In my case, my hospital bills for that April 9 attack was almost P50,000. Then my PTCA procedure or operation expenses and bills was P510,000. No ordinary employee could afford this even if he occupies a supervisory position. With children still going to school, no employee like me who depends only on his salary to have a decent living can save that much for medical expenses. As a matter of fact I was decided to just wait for the second and final attack to come when I learned that the blockages in my widow-maker were 95% already. Only the intervention of a Good Samaritan, whose name I don't have the liberty to reveal yet, (I must ask his permission), has kept me on extended life today.

With this reality as far as physical fitness and health care program in the workplace especially of our government workers are concerned, we strongly suggest that all human resource offices now should consider starting a more attractive physical fitness program for the employees – and for national government and the local government to consider restructuring the health insurance program now being implemented by Philhealth. Special focus should be considered for those handling stressful responsibilities and functions.

NOTES: Congratulations to Gov. Erico B. Aumentado and Mrs. Grenie Aumentado on their Ruby Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. Forty years and eight children after getting married, their love for each other is an example to emulate in this modern age where separation of married couples is no longer an exception.