Senate approves Mental Health Act

May 2, 2017

The Senate of the Philippines on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill
creating a national mental health policy.

The Senate, on its first day back in session, passed Senate Bill No. 1345, or the
Philippine Mental Health Bill, the first of its kind in the country.

The bill was approved was approved with 19 affirmative votes, zero negative vote
and no abstention. It was filed on Feb. 17, 2017.

This bill was sponsored  by Sen. Risa Hontiveros,  former Senate Committee on
Health chairperson. It was principally authored by Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and
co-authored by Loren Legarda, Antonio Trillanes IV, Bam Aquino, Sonny Angara, and
Joel Villanueva.

The Senate bill seeks to integrate mental health services and programs in the public
health system. It also mandates the government to provide basic mental health
services at the community level and psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services
in all regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals.

Hontiveros said she considers the passage of the mental health bill historic as the
Philippines is only one of a few countries in the world that still does not have a
national mental health policy. She thanked her fellow senators, particularly Sen. JV
Ejercito, now Health committee chairman, for backing and supporting the passage of
the bill.

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"This is a historic day for all of us. After being one of the few countries left without a
mental health policy, we are now one step closer to realizing a national mental
health law to comprehensively address the Filipinos’ mental health needs and ensure
that our rights as persons with mental health needs are protected and secured,"
Hontiveros said.

"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 added.

Hontiveros said that in 2012 alone, the World Health Organization reported 2,558
cases of Filipinos committing suicide, an average of seven cases daily. She added that
the Department of Health estimates that one in five Filipino adults has some form of
mental illness, with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety topping the incidences of
disorder.
Mental health advocates led by Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa, Antoinette
Taus and Jerika Ejercito also attended the Senate session to show their support and
to applaud the passage of the bill.

A Technical Working Group is already working on integrating similar counterpart bills

at the House of Representatives. — Rosette Adel