President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Republic Act 11036 or the Mental Health Law, which will secure affordable and accessible aid for people suffering from mental disorders.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, author and principal author of the bill in the Senate, said in a statement that the new law will “secure the rights and welfare of persons with mental health needs and mental health professionals; provide mental health services down to the barangays; integrate psychiatric, psychosocial, and neurologic services in regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals; improve our mental healthcare facilities; and promote mental health education in our schools and workplaces.”
The law will also provide PhilHealth coverage for the confinement, check-ups, and medicine of mental health patients.
“RA 11036 cements the government’s commitment to a more holistic approach to healthcare: that there is no health without mental health.
“No longer shall Filipinos suffer silently in the dark. Mental health issues will now cease to be seen as an invisible sickness spoken only in whispers,” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros added in her statement that seven Filipinos commit suicide everyday and that one in every five adults suffer from a form of mental disorder.
