Students should be made to understand mental health conditions —Duque

Efforts to remove the stigma on people with mental health conditions should start in schools so students will be aware that it is not a "hopeless case," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Friday.

"It begins with education," Duque said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

"Dapat pinapakilala na itong pagtanggal sa stigma sa eskuwelahan pa lamang para yung mga bata maintindihan na may ganitong mental health conditions na kailangan maintindihan at tugunan ng tama at hindi ibig sabihin ay hopeless case na yung kondisyon," he added.

Duque recently signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11036, or the Mental Health Act, which provides basic mental health services down to the barangay level while increasing the capacities of mental health professionals.

The law also secures the rights and welfare of persons with mental health needs and mental health professionals, integrates psychiatric, psycho-social, and neurologic services in regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals, improves mental healthcare facilities, and promotes mental health education in schools and workplaces.

Duque said the implementation of the law still needs more thorough discussion.

"Ano yung stratehiya? Ano ang policy?" he asked, noting the different kinds of mental health conditions like depression and schizophrenia, among others. —KBK, GMA News