Battle-scarred warriors need some skincare too, says Rep. Romualdo

MANILA, Philippines— A lawmaker, who earlier broached the idea of ​​piercing volcanoes to avert eruption, on Wednesday urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to provide skincare services to its personnel, including those deployed to combat missions, by hiring dermatologists.

Presiding over the confirmation hearing of the Commission on Appointments (CA), Camiguin Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo said he noticed that military doctors who faced the bicameral body for their promotion were usually orthopedic surgeons and ophthalmologists.

None of them, however, specialized in treating skin diseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, and athlete’s foot, he pointed out.

“It’s a serious concern because if you have athlete’s foot or psoriasis, it will be difficult for you to (train),” said Romualdo, whose comment elicited chuckles from those attending the proceedings.

“I just want to know if you have a program on dermatology and in treating skin diseases in the Armed Forces… I found out also that in the US, even if (their soldiers) have the best (military) gears, they still suffer from skin diseases,” he said.

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Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who sat beside Romualdo, agreed that the AFP should also look after the skin condition of the soldiers.

“That’s a good question… It’s a serious concern,” Zubiri said, adding that his grandfather, Dr. Manuel Fernandez, was actually one of the pioneers of dermatology in the Philippines.

In response, Brig. Gen. Fatima Claire Navarro, the AFP surgeon general, said the military only had two dermatologists, but both had already retired from the service.

She said some of their personnel were now currently undergoing specialization training to become dermatologists.

“We actually already added in our proposal to the scorecard of the AFP chief of staff a special aspect on force health protection,” said Navarro, one of the 54 senior military officials whose promotions were confirmed by the CA.

“And this is not just the wellness on the physical aspects, but more particularly on certain diseases that can be affecting our soldiers since they are living in barracks and cannot maintain very good hygiene when they are in (combat) operations,” she said.

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Besides lifestyle-related diseases, Navarro said the AFP had also come up with a health program to stem tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and other related health conditions.

“So this would also include the dermatologic (concerns of AFP personnel),” said the AFP surgeon general.

She said the V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City has civilian doctors offering dermatology services for soldiers and that military nurses had been trained to treat common skin diseases.

The AFP official echoed Romualdo’s concerns, saying that some skin problems may cause sepsis and result in the death of the patient.

According to Navarro, the military was also focusing on providing mental health services for its troops.

“These are the things that we want to enhance better in the next few years,” she said. “We are facilitating aids through our modernization program. (Soldiers) should also (get) health service support to sustain them in their operations.”

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