The Department of Health will kick off routine medical screenings for first-time students as public schools reopen on June 16, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said Saturday.
The screenings, which will begin next week in various public schools, aim to identify early signs of nutrition deficiencies, vision problems, and hearing issues among first-time enrollees.
The initiative was announced during a DOH road safety awareness event in Pasay City.
“During Brigada Eskwela, we focused on checking teachers’ health. Now that classes are starting, we’re shifting our attention to first-time schoolers,” Herbosa said.
The health department is also gearing up for its school-based immunization program, scheduled to begin in October. The vaccines, which include tetanus-diphtheria and HPV for young girls, are part of the DOH’s continuing efforts to safeguard students from preventable diseases.
“These vaccines are part of the regular immunization schedule for school-aged children, just as there are crucial vaccines during the first 1,000 days of life,” Herbosa said.
Herbosa also urged DepEd to offer healthy food in school canteens and to limit processed snacks.
He said he discussed regulating unhealthy school food with DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara, promoting better nutrition like Japan’s nutritionist-planned meals.
As this developed, Herbosa expressed support for the full implementation of the 30-kilometer per hour (kph) speed limit in city and municipality streets.
According to the DOH, about 12,000 Filipinos die due to road accidents, annually. In 2024 alone, it recorded more than 37,000 road accident-related injuries.
“Let us all move forward with urgency and unity and let us renew the commitment to reduce road crash deaths and serious injuries by 50 percent by 2028,” Herbosa said. “Let us reject complacency (and) pursue evidence-based solutions.”
Road systems, he said, should also improve to cater to two-wheeler drivers and bike users.
Under the Land Transportation and Traffic Code or Republic Act 4136, the maximum allowable speed on city and municipality streets, with light traffic, when not designated “through streets,” is only 30 kph for passenger cars, motorcycles, motor trucks, and buses.
Move As One Coalition co-convenor Robert Siy Jr. said its full implementation in urban areas would not only make streets safer but also more accessible to the population.
“More people will want to walk, more people will want to bike, more people will want to use public transport – it will change the character of our area,” he said.
