Herbosa mulls renaming DOH to 'Department of Health and Wellness'

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa has proposed to include the term "wellness" in the name of the Department of Health (DOH).

In a message to reporters, DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said Herbosa's suggestion to have the agency renamed "Department of Health and Wellness" is a "sound idea" and will thus be studied further. 

"The proposal to rename the Department is a sound idea floated by the Secretary, anchored on a broad understanding of the ultimate goal of public health," Domingo said. 

The DOH spokesperson said that the World Health Organization (WHO) charter defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

"That is the essence of wellness," Domingo said. —Giselle Ombay/KBK, GMA Integrated News