Amidst investigations into the shooting at the Senate on the night of May 13, a labor NGO said that the mental and emotional health and wellbeing of the staff and employees of the upper house, as well as journalists covering it, must also be examined and protected.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that Senate employees and journalists covering the Senate most likely suffered from suddenly imposed psychological distress when guns were fired and a melee broke out in the Senate premises, and may need wellness leaves or counselling or both.

“Hearing gunshots and witnessing disorder as a result of gunshots are surely harmful to anyone’s mental and emotional health and well-being. They are especially stressful for workers in workplaces that have historically been free from gunshots and are rightfully expected to be free from these,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

CTUHR said that in recent years, workers’ right to the protection and promotion of mental and emotional health and well-being has become part of the right to “just and favourable conditions of work,” according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and “safe and healthy working conditions,” according to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In the Philippines, these rights have been encompassed by the right to “humane conditions of work,” according to the 1987 Constitution, and has been reflected in the country’s laws – particularly, the Mental Health Act (Republic Act No. 11036), the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Law (RA No. 11058), and orders of the Department of Labor and Employment and the Civil Service Commission.

“The negative impacts of the May 13 shootings on employees and journalists should not be underestimated. Scientific research shows that even one-time exposure to gunshots can cause shock and panic. People can become hypervigilant or paranoid, and experience sleep disruptions, as a result,” Deligente added.

The labor NGO said that these harms should be added to the list of damage caused by members of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) who fired the shots. It also said that the employees’ and journalists’ exposure to the gunshots happened because of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s call for a caucus of the Senate majority over Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case and amidst the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

“When the Senate President calls for a caucus after office hours, senators stay, and when senators stay, their staff and Senate employees also stay. The question right now is not whether or not the minority senators were concerned about the majority senators after the incident, as Senator Pia Cayetano said. The question right now is whether or not the senators, as employers of their staff, have provided mental and emotional health support to their staff, who were exposed to a suddenly imposed stress because of their principals’ attendance in a caucus,” Deligente added.

CTUHR said that according to the laws stated above and DOLE orders, particularly DOLE Order No. 28, Series of 2020 for the private sector, employers have a responsibility of preventing harm to workers’ mental and emotional health or providing support when these are harmed.