PERHAPS not many heard that the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Mental Health Act were signed just this Jan. 22. With it now in place, it is hoped that the Department of Health (DOH) will be very proactive in its defense of the mental health rights of Filipinos.
The signing came just six days after the drummer of popular band Razorback jumped to his death from a condominium on Jan. 16. Said to be suffering from depression, he broadcasted his suicide live on Facebook.
These days, millennials and post-millennials seem to be under heavy stress but lack the needed coping mechanisms, support systems, and stress relief skills to address their mental health needs. The IRR would ensure proper implementation of the law. It took more than three decades to push for this particular law that comprehensively promotes mental health.
Now, there is no excuse for DOH and other implementors of the Mental Health Act to make their mental health services inaccessible. The real work starts with the implementation. Yes, mental health services should also be accessible to overseas Filipino workers, too, especially those in distress situations and high-stress environments.
Universal health care is incomplete without caring for our people’s mental health. In real crisis situations, including missing person cases, the public must be able to contact specialists who can immediately respond with expert intervention.
The enactment of the Mental Health Law last year is most welcome. It aims ensure affordable and accessible mental health services to Filipinos with mental disabilities. This landmark legislation is expected to usher in a new chapter in mental healthcare policy and service delivery in the Philippines as it would integrate mental health in all health services and policy initiatives.
As early as 2012, the World Health Organization reported that there were 2,558 cases of Filipinos committing suicide, averaging to seven suicide cases per day. DOH, for its part, reported that one in five Filipino adults has some form of mental illness, topped by schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
Mental healthcare should be delivered as an integral part of our primary healthcare system amid the growing number of mental illnesses that are left untreated due to lack of mental facilities and of physicians who are sufficiently trained to handle and treat mental conditions.
