Rep. Florida Robes, shown here in a photo taken in December 2019, is the author of a bill seeking to establish the San Jose Del Monte Mental Wellness Center. (File photo from her office)
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading on Tuesday a bill seeking to establish the country’s first mental health clinic.
House Bill No. 9980, which will now be transmitted to the Senate, was approved with 196 affirmative votes, with nobody voting against and nobody abstaining.
The clinic will be established in San Jose Del Monte City in Bulacan. It will be funded and managed by the city government in conjunction with the Department of Health.
San Jose Del Monte Rep. Florida Robes, who authored the bill, said the approval was “very timely” considering the “many mental health problems and issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to her, the mental health clinic will be the first of its kind in the Philippines.
Citing data from the National Health Program of the DOH, Robes said at least 3.6 million Filipinos suffer from mental disorders.
READ: Around 3.6 million Filipinos suffering from mental disorders — DOH
“Mental health has been widely ignored and less prioritized by the government as our country has been considered one of the poorest in terms of mental health resources,” Robes said in a statement.
“The problem of mental health has even been more pronounced as we encounter the many ill-effects of Covid-19 with the lockdowns and social distancing which have prevented us from being with our friends and engaging in personal interactions and connection with other people,” she added.
The clinic — to be called the San Jose Del Monte Mental Wellness Center — will provide services that include counseling and therapy, crisis counseling and intervention, medication, evaluation and management, group therapy, mindfulness meditation, after-hours care, and other psychiatric services.
The center will also offer psychotherapy services to patients with difficult emotions, anxiety and stress, childhood trauma, cross-cultural issues, life transitions, depression, parenting issues, post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic abuse, and family and interpersonal conflicts.
The development plan of the center will be prepared by the San Jose Del Monte government in accordance with the Philippine Health Facility Development Plan and in consultation with the DOH.
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