Medical clearance to work for public officials required under proposed bill

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MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed a bill mandating public officials and employees to annually submit a medical certificate certifying that they are medically fit to work.

In filing Senate Bill No. 1818 or the proposed Fit-to-Work Act, Sotto said the annual submission of the medical certificates of public servants is to “ensure that they are in a state of health that would enable them to perform their tasks satisfactorily and provide prompt and adequate service to the public.”

Should the bill be enacted into law, failure to submit the required medical certificate would be considered as an administrative offense.

“It is the mandate of public officers and employees to serve the people with utmost responsibility and efficiency at all times. Intelligence and skills alone are not enough to carry out this sworn duty,” the bill’s explanatory note read.

“A good state of health is of equal importance and critical factor in discharging one’s function, yet often overlooked,” he added.

Moreover, the bill is aimed at raising the level of health consciousness among public officials and employees and to promote transparency regarding their health status.

Under the bill, the required medical certificate must be issued by a government physician after proper evaluation of the public servant’s physical examination and laboratory test results.

It should be submitted every first quarter of the year, on or before April 30.

Further, the bill states that the medical certificate should be available to the public for ten 10 years after receipt.

The document may be destroyed after said period unless needed in an ongoing investigation, according to the measure.

The bill, however, excludes the inspection or reproduction of the laboratory test results attached to a public official’s or employee’s medical certificate “in recognition that these are confidential and private documents.”

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