Senate votes 19-0 on proposed mental health law 

The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill establishing a national mental health policy in the country.

Senate Bill No. 1354, otherwise known as the Philippine Mental Health Law,  seeks to integrate mental health services into the national health system to make it more accessible, affordable and equitable.

The bill, principally authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros, also mandates the government to put up basic mental health services at the community level and psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services in all regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals.

”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," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros called on the House of Representatives to pass their version of the mental health law.

“I cannot overemphasize the urgency of passing this measure. It’s high time that we shine some light on the issue of mental health,” she said.

In 2012 alone, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were 2,558 cases of Filipinos committing suicide, averaging to seven suicide cases daily. 

The Department of Health (DOH), meanwhile, counts that one in five Filipino adults have some form of mental illness, with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety topping the incidents of disorder.

Hontiveros said the proposal is dedicated to those who have been ridiculed for their condition.

“Sa lahat ng hindi makatarungang sinabihan ng siraulo, lukaret, maluwag ang tornilyo, may sayad, baliw, abnormal, may topak, emo, praning, sinto-sinto at buwang, dahil sa maling pagunawa sa issue ng mental health, para sa inyo ang batas na’to. No one should suffer alone silently in the dark,” she said.

The bill also provides for the capacity building, reorientation, and training of mental health professionals and health workers.

The proposal was co-authored by Senators Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Antonio Trillanes, Bam Aquino, Sonny Angara, and Joel Villanueva.  —KBK, GMA News