Here are some of the major questions and answers that you should know about the

Republic Act 11036 or the Mental Health Law in the Philippines:

1. WHO AUTHORED AND SPONSORED THE MENTAL HEALTH BILL?
While there were several groups and legislators who extended their support and
efforts in promoting Mental Health measures in the Philippines, the recently passed
law was written and sponsored by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
2. WHO SIGNED THE MENTAL HEALTH BILL INTO LAW?
The incumbent president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed the Mental
Health Bill and officially acknowledged it as the Mental Health Law o Republic Act
11036 on June 20, 2018, a day before the then bill finally lapsed into law.
3. WHAT CHANGES CAN THE RA 11036 BRING TO THE COUNTRY?
Aside from paving the way to a total integration of mental health into the
Philippines general healthcare system, the Mental Health Law will provide patients
and sufferers access to the benefits of government medical insurance like
PhilHealth.
These benefits include payment coverage for the mental health patient’s medical
check-up, medicine, and hospital confinement. Most importantly, the RA 11036
mandates the government to provide specific health sectors, units and health
workforce that are primarily dedicated to attending to mental health sufferers.
4. WHICH GOVERNMENT AGENCY WILL LEAD THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH LAW?
As the principal health agency in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH)
will be a major player in the implementation of the new measures included in the
law. For starters, the DOH, according to the Mental Health Bill initially passed in
the Senate, will have the power to institutionalize mental health services on a
national level: that includes the regional, provincial, and even tertiary hospitals
in the county.
According to the bill’s author, Sen. Hontiveros, there is even a possibility that
these services can be brought down even to the barangay (village) level.
5. WHAT ROLES WILL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS PLAY IN THE NEW RA 11036?
When the bill was unanimously approved by the Senate in 2017, there were several
inclusions in the said proposal that highlighted the roles of different government
and public sectors in order to fully implement its measures – and one of the major
sectors that will play a role in the new RA 11036 are schools/ educational
institutions.
The Department of Health could be tasked to coordinate with educational
institutions to incorporate mental health into the curricula of every school in the
country. This move could help put mental health issues into the mainstream
consciousness of younger learners and could help reduce, and hopefully eliminate
the stigma.
6. WHAT OPTIONS DID PATIENTS HAVE BEFORE THE RA 11036 WAS PASSED?
Before the Mental Health Law was passed into law, there were only a few to no
benefits that mental health patients can rely on. Here are two of them.
Health Insurance Coverage
One major yet limited measure was centered on government insurance coverage from
PhilHealth. Before RA 11036, PhilHealth insurance only covered a mental health
patient’s hospitalization as long as the event was caused by extreme or acute
episodes of mental or behavioral disorders. Moreover, the package was only at a
very minimum rate of PhP 7,800.
Mental Health Hotlines
In 2016, the slow yet emerging efforts by the government to acknowledge mental
health as a serious issue has given patients and sufferers a glimpse of hope. It
was when a national hotline dedicated for mental health assistance went live,
together with other resources that provided access to psychiatrists and other
assistance options.
However, the hotline was short-lived, with multiple complaints from those who tried
to reach out, emphasizing the hotlines’ inaccessibility after work hours instead of
a needed 24/7 services. Its failure was further fuelled by apparently “apathetic”
responders who did not seem to know how to deal with callers undergoing a mental
health crisis.
7. IS RA 11036 THE FIRST LAW OF ITS KIND?
According to the Mental Health Law’s proponents and its supporting coalition, RA
11036 is actually the very first legislation that was written to protect the rights
as well as the welfare of Filipinos with mental health conditions.
Most importantly, the law is the first to acknowledge measures that directly shifts
the focus of care, primarily to the community, emphasizing the importance of access
to services and integration of mental health in both the national school curricula
and countrywide workplace regulations.
8. HOW WAS RA 11036 RECEIVED BY THE FILIPINOS?
Mental health advocates, lawmakers, health workers, and millions of Filipinos have
supported and commended the move to finally recognize the need for measures to
support, assist and provide the necessary help to mental health sufferers.
The online community made popular several tags and hashtags such as #HelpisHere,
#MoveForMH and #MentalHealthforAll on social media, using them on their posts to
promote and show their full support on the said measure.
CONCLUSION
Even without the final draft of the Mental Health Law’s Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) yet, the law’s proponents and supporters are hopeful that more
services, resources, and benefits for all Filipinos can be successfully
accommodated in the RA 11036.
While the move to finally pass the Mental Health Bill into law was a monumental
one, many still believe that there is still more work to be done in order to create
a more accepting, understanding and supportive Philippine society when it comes to
matters concerning mental health issues.