DOH to begin deliberations on Mental Health Law's IRR on Monday

The Department of Health (DOH) and various stakeholders will begin formulating the implementing rules and regulations for the Mental Health Law or Republic Act 11036.

Dr. Ed Tolentino, former president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA), said in a press conference in Quezon City that the IRR will be crucial in providing mental health services in hospitals, schools, and workplaces as mandated by the law.

"Although the DOH is initiating it, we the stakeholders are being involved," Tolentino said. "We are happy that broad-minded ang DOH. They are continually pushing the process of involvement of the different stakeholders."

In accordance with the law, a new division exclusively for mental health services will be created under the non-communicable diseases cluster along with the reconstitution of the Philippine Mental Health Council.

Capacity-building for barangay health workers will also be initiated to provide support to community members who do not have mental illnesses but may require support in coping with day-to-day problems.

"Problems of living, halimbawa, nag-away ang mag-asawa, nagrerebelde ang bata, alienated ang member of community sa kanyang kapwa," Dr. Bolet Bautista of the Psychological Association of the Philippines said, enumerating possible causes of stress.

"'Di naman kailangan ang doctor or psychiatrist, pero kinakailangan may trained layworkers dun," she added.

New rates for treatments, medication, and prevention of mental illnesses are under deliberation by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), which began doing the actuarials on the fees while the law was still being formed.

PhilHealth aims to have parity of rates of physical and mental illnesses to give indigent Filipinos access to prohibitively-priced mental health services such as therapy, medication, and hospitalization.

"Kung anuman ang bibigay mo sa physical health, kailangan equal rin ang mental health," Tolentino said. "For now, ang existing, is that acute hospitalization is being covered by PhilHealth."

Inter-agency consultations with the Department of Labor and Employment and Department of Education will also be done to strengthen mental health and education in schools and workplaces.

Lastly, voluntary drug surenderees will undergo a professional assessment to determine if they need to be enrolled in a program similar to the Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers (MICA) Program to treat the underlying causes of their addiction.

"Meron ngayong assessment kung may co-morbidity, ibig sabihin may mental illness or drug abuse, or nagkaroon ng mental illness on account of drug abuse; hindi po unusual 'yun," Tolentino said.

"Sa totoo lang po, maraming co-existing na drug problem with a mental illness problem, over 50 percent," he continued. "Manloko man sila, they are being assessed. Mapi-pickup naman professionally kung meron talagang mental health problem."

Tolentino said the version of the Mental Health Bill that was signed into law was the 36th and best draft of the bill that took 17 years to pass.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Mental Health Bill into law—Republic Act 11036, or the Philippine Mental Health Law—on Wednesday providing basic mental health services down to the barangay level while increasing the capacities of mental health professionals. —KG, GMA News