President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law Republic Act No. 11036 or the Philippine Mental Health Law that would secure, among others, the rights and welfare of persons with mental health needs. Senator Risa Hontiveros, author and principal sponsor of the bill in the Senate, revealed this as she lauded the signing of the measure that she said would set the path for the government’s policy in integrating mental health care with the country’s public healthcare system.
Hontiveros said the law will not only secure the rights and welfare of persons with mental health needs and of mental health professionals, but it would also provide mental health services down to the barangays; integrate psychiatric, psychosocial, and neurologic services in regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals; improve the country’s mental health care facilities; and promote mental health education in schools and workplaces.
The Mental Health Law cements the government’s commitment to a more holistic approach to healthcare: without sound mental health there can be no genuine physical health,” she said.
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net