House passes landmark mental health bill

Brighter days are ahead for people with mental health needs. The House of Representatives approved House Bill 6452, otherwise known as the proposed “Comprehensive Mental Health Act”, on November 20, 2017.

The chamber approved the bill on the third and final reading with a vote of 223 in the affirmative, zero in the negative, and zero in abstentions. The measure seeks to provide an integrated mental health service to Filipinos who have psychological care needs.

If the bill is enacted into law, mental health care will be integrated in the general health delivery system, particularly in the programs of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

This will ensure Filipinos a chance to live a better life where their mental health needs are prioritized along with their overall physical and health care.

The bill also protects the rights of persons with mental illness or those who are undergoing treatment for a mental illness, and this includes their right to freedom from social, economic and political discrimination and stigmatization.

Principally authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros, the bill mandates the government to set up basic mental health services at the community level, as well as psychiatric, psychosocial, neurologic services the regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals.

Hontiveros commended the passage of the bill at the Lower House and said that she is looking forward to working with Congress in finalizing the bill and having it signed into law.

“Because of this measure, our people with mental health needs will no longer suffer silently in the dark. They will no longer endure an invisible illness and fight an invisible war,” she said.

Apart from providing mental health care, the bill also promotes the study of mental health in elementary and secondary schools as a way to prevent obesity, depression, and teenage pregnancy among students.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2,558 cases of Filipinos committing suicide were reported in 2012 alone, averaging to seven suicides cases per day.

Meanwhile, the DOH said that one in five Filipino adults deal with mental illness such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.

via GMA / Erwin Colcol