Army locating other traumatized soldiers

MANILA, Philippines — The commanding general of the Philippine Army has instructed one of his key officers to identify and locate former soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other forms of trauma in an effort to reach out and help them cope with mental illness.

“The thrust of our commanding general [Army Lt. Gen.] Gilbert Gapay is to identify those who have left the service …We want to look for them, and we want to help them,” said Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, the Army spokesperson.

“We wish to help them because at the end of the day, they are former soldiers and they contracted their illness because of their service. So it’s only fitting we, as fellow soldiers, help them to prevent another incident like what happened to Corporal [Winston] Ragos,” he added.

PTSD occurs when a person who experiences or witnesses a traumatic event is unable to recover from the resulting distress.

—Cathy Canares -Yamsuan