MAGAYANO, KIMBERLY M.

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11036

“AN ACT ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH POLICY FOR THE
PURPOSE OF ENHANCING THE DELIVERY OF INTEGRATED MENTAL HEALTH
SERVICES, PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS
UTILIZING PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH SERVICES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR AND OTHER PURPOSES.”
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Addiction - refers to a primary chronic relapsing disease of brain reward, motivation, memory,
and related circuitry. Dysfunctions in the circuitry lead to characteristic biological, psychological,
social, and spiritual manifestations. It is characterized by the inability to consistently abstain
impairment and behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with
one's behavior and interpersonal relationships and a dysfunctional emotional response;
Carer - refers to the person, who may or may not be patient's next-of-kin or relative, who
maintains a close personal; relationship and manifests concern for the welfare of the patient;
Discrimination - refers to any distinction, exclusion or restriction which has the purpose or effect
of nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social cultural, civil or any other field.
It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation. Special
measure solely to protect the rights or secure the advancement of persons with decision-making
impairment capacity shall not be deemed to be discriminatory;
Drug Rehabilitation - refers to the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment of
dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and other dangerous
drugs pursuant to Republic Act, 9165, otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs
Act of 2002". Rehabilitation process may also be applicable to diagnosed behavioral addictions
such as gambling, internet and sexual addictions. The general intent is to enable the patient to
confront the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences. Treatment includes
medication for co-morbid psychiatric or other medical disorders, counseling by experts and sharing
of experience with other addicted individuals;
Impairment or Temporary Loss of Decision-Making Capacity - refers to a medically-
determined inability on the part of a service user or any other person affected by a mental health
condition, to provide informed consent. A service user has impairment or temporary loss of
decision-making capacity when the service user as assessed by a mental health professional is
unable to do the following:
(1) Understand information concerning the nature of a mental health condition;
(2) Understand the consequences of one's decisions and actions on one's life or health, or the
life or health of others;
(3) Understand information about the nature of the treatment proposed, including
methodology, direct effects, and possible side effects; and
(4) Effectively communicate consent voluntarily given by a service user to a plan for treatment
or hospitalization, or information regarding one's own condition;
Mental Health - refers to a state of well-being in which the individual realizes one's own abilities
and potentials, scopes adequately with the normal stresses of life, displays resilience in the face of
extreme life events, works productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a positive contribution
to the community;
Mental Health Facility - refers to any establishment, or any unit of an establishment, which has,
as its primary function, the provision of mental health services;
Mental Health Service - refer to psychosocial psychiatric or neurologic activities and programs
along the whole range of the mental health support services including promotion, prevention,
treatment, and aftercare, which are provided by mental health facilities and mental health
professionals;
Psychosocial Problems - refers to a condition that indicates the existence of dysfunctions in a
person's behavior, thoughts and feelings brought about by sudden extreme, prolonged or
cumulative stressors in the physical or social environment;
Service User - refers to a person with lived experience of any mental health condition including
persons who require or are undergoing psychiatric, neurologic or psychosocial care;

SALIENT FEATURES:
Quality of Mental Health Services - Mental health services provided pursuant to this Act shall
be:
(a) Based on medical and scientific research findings;
(b) Responsive to the clinical, gender, cultural and ethnic and other special needs of the individuals
being served;
(c) Most appropriate and least restrictive setting:
(d) Age appropriate; and
(e) Provided by mental health professionals and workers in a manner that ensures accountability.
Mental Health Services at the Community Level - Responsive primary mental health services
shall be developed and integrated as part of the basic health services at the appropriate level of
care, particularly at the city, municipal, and barangay level. The standards of mental health services
shall be determined by the DOH in consultation with stakeholders based on current evidences.
Every local government unit (LGU) and academic institution shall create their own program in
accordance with the general guidelines set by the Philippine Council for Mental Health, created
under this Act, in coordination with other stakeholders. LGUs and academic institutions shall
coordinate with all concerned government agencies and the private sector for the implementation
of the program.
Community-based Mental Health Care Facilities - The national government through the DOH
shall fund the establishment and assist in the operation of community-based mental health care
facilities in the provinces, cities and cluster of municipalities in the entire country based on the
needs of the population, to provide appropriate mental health care services, and enhance the rights-
based approach to mental health care.
Each community-based mental health care facility shall in addition to adequate room, office or
clinic, have a complement of mental health professionals, allied professionals, support staff,
trained barangay health workers (BHWs) volunteer, family members of patients or service users,
basic equipment and supplies and adequate stock of medicines appropriate at that level.
Psychiatric, Psychosocial, and Neurologic Services in Regional, Provincial, and Tertiary
Hospitals - All regional, provincial, and tertiary hospitals, including private hospitals rendering
service to paying patients, shall provide the following psychiatric, psychosocial, and neurologic
services;
(a) Short-term, in-patient, hospital care in a small psychiatric or neurologic ward for service
users exhibiting acute psychiatric or neurologic symptoms;
(b) Partial hospital care for those exhibiting psychiatric symptoms or experiencing
difficulties vis-à-vis their personal and family circumstances;
(c) Out-patient in close collaboration with existing mental health programs at primary health
care centers in the same area;
(d) Home care services for services users with special needs as a result of, among others, long-
term hospitalization, noncompliance with or inadequacy of treatment, and absence of
immediate family;
(e) Coordination with drug rehabilitation center vis-a-vis the care, treatment, and rehabilitation
of persons suffering from addiction and other substance-induced mental health conditions; and
(f) A referral system involving other public and private health and social welfare service
providers, for the purpose of expanding access to programs aimed at preventing mental illness
and managing the condition of persons at risk of developing mental, neurologic, and
psychosocial problems.
Drug Screening Services - Pursuant to its duty to provide mental health service and consistent
with the policy of treating drug dependency as a mental health issue, each local health care facility
must be capable of conducting drug screening.
Suicide Prevention - Mental health services shall also include mechanisms for suicide
intervention, prevention, and response strategies, with particular attention to the concerns of the
youth. Twenty-four seven (24/7) hotlines, to provide assistance to individuals with mental health
conditions, especially individuals at risk of committing suicide, shall be set up, and existing
hotlines shall be strengthened.
Public Awareness - The DOH and the LGUs shall initiate and sustain a heightened nationwide
multimedia campaign to raise the level of public awareness on the protection and promotion of
mental health and rights including, but not limited to, mental health and nutrition, stress handling,
guidance and counseling, and other elements of mental health.
Duties and Responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) - The CHR shall:
(a) Establish mechanisms to investigate, address, and set upon complaints to impropriety and
abuse in the treatment and care received by service users, particularly when such treatment or
care is administered or implemented voluntarily;
(b) Inspect mental health facilities to ensure that service users therein are not being subjected
to cruel, inhumane, or degrading conditions or treatment;
(c) Investigate all cases involving involuntary treatment, confinement, or care or service users,
for the purpose of ensuring strict compliance with domestic and international standards
respecting the legality, quality, and appropriateness of such treatment, confinement, or care;
and
(d) Appoint a focal commissioner for mental health tasked with protecting and promoting the
rights of service users and other persons utilizing mental health services or confined in mental
health facilities, as well as the rights of mental health professionals and workers. The focal
 commissioner shall, upon a finding that a mental health facility, mental health professional, or
mental health worker has violated any of the rights provided for in this Act, take all necessary
actions to rectify or remedy such violation, including recommending that an administrative,
civil, or criminal case be filed by the appropriate government agency.
Investigative Role of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) - The investigative role of the
CHR as provided in the pertinent provisions of this Act shall be limited to all violations of human
rights involving civil and political rights consistent with the powers and functions of the CHR
under Section 18 of Article XIII of the Constitution.
Complaint and Investigation - The DOJ, CHR and Department of Justice shall receive all
complaints of improprieties and abuses in mental health care and shall initiate appropriate
investigation and action. Further, the CHR shall inspect all places where psychiatric service users
are held for involuntary treatment or otherwise, to ensure full compliance with domestic and
international standards governing the legal basis for treatment or otherwise, to ensure full
compliance with domestic and international standards governing the legal basis for treatment and
detention quality of medical care and living standards.
Voluntary Submission of a Drug Dependent to Confinement, treatment and Rehabilitation
- Persons who avail of the voluntary submission provision and persons charged pursuant to
Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002",
shall undergo an examination for mental health conditions and. if found to have mental health
conditions, shall be covered by the provision of this Act.

Break the stigma attached to mental health illness: DOH exec

By Lade Jean Kabagani October 18, 2019, 9:48 am
Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1083522
LIVE FREE FROM STIGMA. Department of Health Calabarzon regional director Eduardo
Janairo says people should refrain from putting a stigma to mental health issues. The DOH-
Calabarzon will soon establish a Regional Mental Health Council that would help improve mental
health care.
MANILA -- An official of the Department of Health (DOH) urged the public to break the stigma
attached to mental health illnesses and refrain from discriminating persons suffering from it.
DOH-Calabarzon regional director Eduardo Janairo said there should be a change to one's
perspective on mental health problems which he described as a common occurrence that must be
resolved and not neglected.
"This is the call of the people, and I'm appealing to everyone not to put a stigma on this issue
because what we need is to help each other to resolve the mental health problem," Janairo said in
an interview on the sidelines of the 2nd Regional Mental Health Summit in Quezon City on
Thursday.
"If you feel you have a mental problem, you tend to shy away with other people which can cause
you a bad image for not being trustworthy. So the tendency, you think it's better to hide the mental
condition," he added.
With the Mental Health law in effect, Janairo assured that mentally-ill persons would be provided
better access to health services. He said the DOH-Calabarzon is now creating a better referral
system related to mental health issues.
"The continuity of care will be provided to the patients whether they're inside the mental institution
or even outside the community," Janairo said.
Janairo said mental health patients are often deprived of medicines due to lack of stocks, while
some of them are ignored. Through the creation of a Regional Mental Health Council, Janairo said
the delivery of mental health services in Calabarzon would improve.
According to the World Health Organization, one in four people in the world will be affected by
mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.
Around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among
the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide.
In the Philippines, a 2000 Census of Population and Housing showed that mental illness and mental
retardation rank third and fourth, respectively among the types of disabilities.
Republic Act 11036 or the Philippine Mental Health Law was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte
on June 20, 2018, and took effect almost two weeks after.
The law helps protect the rights and welfare of people with mental health conditions, shift the
focus of care to the community, and improve access to services.
Since mental health is now integrated into basic health services, the law also provides PhilHealth
coverage for confinement, checkups and medicines, and special rooms for mental health
patients. (PNA)

PHL confronts costs, effects of issues on mental health

By BusinessMirror -September 5, 2019
By Samuel P. Medenilla & Cai U. Ordinario | Reporters
& Roselin Manawis | Intern
Source:https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/09/05/phl-confronts-costs-effects-of-issues-on-
mental-health/
IN the 18th century, Karl Marx called it alienation of man; today this is described by the collective
phrase of mental health issues. And with the state issuing a policy addressing this social
phenomenon, public and private initiatives are now converging to address the costs and effects of
the issues on mental health.
For Cely D. Magpantay, a practicing clinical psychologist, the main problem is stigma. For labor
unionists, the problem is related to stigma: treating mental health issue as the elephant in the room.
Magpantay, who is also a board member of the Psychological Association of the Philippines
(PAP), said in certain situations, Filipino families tend to be secretive if a family member has a
mental condition.
The same may be said of students and employees who do not disclose any psychological issues
they may be experiencing in fear of judgement, she explained to the BusinessMirror.
Certain stereotypes are still prevalent today, and these hold many from seeking help and talking
about their conditions, she added.
Such was the experience of Denise, who spoke about her condition only if her identity is not
revealed.
Studying in one of the exclusive schools in the metropolis, Denise took a slide into her own world
after failing to cope with the growing workload of her academic requirements.
From being one of the top performing in her class, she saw her grades plunge. “My stress level
soared with every drop in my grades,” she told the BusinessMirror.
One of many
DENISE is one of the 3.3 million Filipinos suffering from depressive disorders, based on
Department of Health (DoH) data.
Based on the DOH website, which was last updated in 2018, at least 19 million Filipinos suffer
from schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and are considered bipolar. The largest group,
accounting for 17 million, are composed of those who suffer from major depressive disorder.
On top of this, the DOH’s Disease Prevention And Control Bureau-Essential Non-Communicable
Disease Division said 5 percent of Filipinos older than 65 years old suffer from dementia and
600,000 Filipinos are epileptic.
The data was based on the “Global Epidemiology on Kaplan and Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry,
2015” and “Kaufman’s Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists, 7th edition, 2013.”
Further, the DOH unit noted that studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that
16 percent of students between 13 and 15 years old have seriously considered attempting suicide;
while 13 percent have actually attempted suicide one or more times during the past year.
Also, a study conducted among government employees in Metro Manila revealed that 32 percent
out of 327 respondents have experienced a mental health problem in their lifetime.
The DOH said studies showed the incidence of suicide in males increased from 0.23 to 3.59 per
100,000 between 1984 and 2005 while rates rose from 0.12 to 1.09 per 100,000 in females.
Intentional self-harm, DOH said, was also the 9th leading cause of death among the 20-year old to
24-year old range.
Workers’ woe
WHEN it comes to workplaces, mental health is still far from the mind of employees.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Spokesman Alan Tanjusay admitted the issue is
still seldom being taken up by workers during their respective collective bargaining agreement
(CBA), where issues like wage and allowances are still paramount.
“It is still not mainstreamed in CBA since they are still trying to learn about it,” Tanjusay told the
BusinessMirror.
However, Tanjusay noted labor groups including TUCP are now including it among their agenda
amid the increasing number of their members who are complaining about mental related-issues.
“These slowly rising incidents are being raised in our discussions and conversations from our
members,” Tanjusay said.
He said these complaints include work-related stress and burnout, which was recently recognized
by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a legitimate “occupational phenomenon.”
This was supported by Federation of Free Workers (FFW) Vice President Julius Cainglet, who
said they usually get such complaints from employees in the call-center industry.
“There are also countless tales of managers at the manufacturing assembly line, who breathe down
the necks of their workers to meet orders and use foul language along the way,” Cainglet said in a
previous statement.
The common causes of poor mental health in the workplace include stress, anxiety, mood and
depression disorders, according to Magpantay.
Talent shortage
THE TUCP and FFW are now banking on the pending Implementing Rules and Regulations of
the Philippine Mental Health Law or Republic Act (RA) 11036 to promote the importance of
mental health in workplaces.
Under RA 11036, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Civil Service
Commission (CSC) are required to develop “standards on appropriate and evidence-based mental
health programs for the workplace.”
As of September 2, the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) of the DOLE said the guidelines
are still being finalized.
The said guidelines, however, may be not be sufficient to address the concerns of workers,
especially since there is a shortage of professionals dealing with mental health.
Last week, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) expressed concern over the lack of
the said professionals in relation to the implementation of the mental health provision of the
Universal Healthcare Law.
“Actually we do not have enough healthcare professionals. We lack about 30,000 medical
professionals. But the shortage is more acute for psychiatrists and psychologists,” Philhealth
President and CEO Ricardo C. Morales said.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) was able to register the first batch of 330 licensed
psychologists only in 2013.
The following year another 571 got licensed for the practice of psychology. This rose to 894 and
1,010 for 2015 and 2016, respectively.
There is also a shortage in practicing psychologists and psychiatrists. Magpantay notes that there
are fewer than 1,000 psychiatrists, and that there are also only quite a few practicing psychologists
in clinics compared to the demand. “There are some provinces that have no psychiatrists and
psychologists as well, and plus of course the facilities,” she points out.
Data disparity
HOWEVER, Magpantay said many cases related to mental health remain unreported.
“In reality, if you are in the field, there’s more than the number [reported to the DOH],” she said.
Magpantay surmises the cause would also be lack of access to services or awareness that mental
health is part of what the government has addressed and is addressing.
For one, there’s the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), “dedicated to delivering
preventive, curative and rehabilitative mental health-care services,” in Mandaluyong City.
For 32 years now, the NCMH has performed as a Special Research Training Center and Hospital
under the DOH. The NCMH has an authorized bed capacity of 4,200 inpatients and serves an
average of 56,000 outpatients per year.
For 2019, the national government allocated P1.005 billion for the NCMH. This is composed of
P779.515 million for personnel services and P225.442 million for maintenance and other operating
expenses. There were no capital outlays for the hospital.
The amount allocated for the hospital is only 1.03 percent of the total budget of the DOH worth
P97.65 billion.
Another tertiary-care psychiatric hospital is the Mariveles Mental Hospital in Bataan with an
authorized bed capacity (ABC) of 500 beds.
According to a study by John Lally, John Tully and Rene Samaniego titled “Mental Health
Services in the Philippines,” a dozen smaller satellite hospitals affiliated with the NCMH are
located throughout the country.
“Overcrowding, poorly functioning units, chronic staff shortages and funding constraints are
ongoing problems, particularly in peripheral facilities,” the authors said. “There are no dedicated
forensic hospitals, although forensic beds are located at the NCMH.”
Absorptive capacity
THE NCMH’s “Comparative Hospital Statistics” revealed its actual beds last year exceeded its
implementing bed capacity (IBC) in 2017 by 112.16 percent. IBC is the actual beds use based on
hospital and/or facility management decision, which for NCMH was at an annual constant of 3,151
beds from 2015 to 2018.
The NCMH’s ABC, or the approved number of beds as per issued license to operate in the hospital
and other health facilities, was at an annual constant of 4,200 beds from 2015 to 2018.
Total admission of the NCMH peaked in 2016 at 11,616 from 10,547 admissions in the previous
year. However, total admissions tapered off to 7,654 in 2017 and to 7,317 last year.
The NCMH’s average daily inpatients steadily increased from 3,149 in 2015 to 3,534 last year.
The average length of stay was at its lowest in 2017 at 99 days when the net death rate was at its
highest that year at 3.58 percent. The highest average length of stay was in 2015 at 198 days. It
went down to 128 in 2016, but increased from 2017 to 2018 at 107. The net death rate was at its
highest at 3.11 percent in 2017, dipping slightly to 3.48 percent last year.
The NCMH’s total OPD patients attended steadily grew at a compounded annual growth rate of
4.95 percent from 64,055 in 2015 to 77,718 last year.
Cost issues
MAGPANTAY added there are also cost issues that shackle families from addressing mental
health issues.
“The cost is also affected by the number of specialties, doctors, other health professionals, and
then facility-wise,” she says. Most of the time, only private hospitals offer proper care for
psychological and psychiatric needs. For public hospitals, it is usually only tertiary-level hospitals
like the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) that offers the proper facilities for care.
Based on the current rates of the NCMH, a consultation costs P400. Some facilities like the PGH
offer free consultation at times. On the other hand, for private institutions, consultation fees can
start from an average of P2,000. A patient usually comes in for consultation once or twice a week
or month, depending on the case.
Vanessa dela Cruz (not her real name) told the BusinessMirror her first therapy appointment four
years ago was P2,400.
“The second was P1,800 and the succeeding ones were P800,” Dela Cruz said. “I had weekly
therapy around two months to three months. Around the fourth month, it [consultations with my
psychiatrist] became every other week.”
There’s also the matter of medicines.
Melissa San Juan (not her real name) said one of the drugs prescribed by her doctor had to be taken
every day. San Juan said she only takes a half dosage since “malakas effect sa akin ng meds [The
medicine’s effect is strong].”
She said at full dosage, the medicine she takes costs P60 a day or about P1,800 a month.
San Juan, who works at a call center, said there are other medicines she needs to take.
So to give a ballpark, if the cheapest drug that could be bought at a popular drugstore is P20
minimum per tablet of one medicine, that would be P600 per month, San Juan said.
“So if you have a combination of meds, it will add by a factor of P600 per medicine per month,”
she told the BusinessMirror.
A box of antidepressants costs an average of P2,000 per month to P3,000 per month, Magpantay
estimates.
Government initiative
MAGPANTAY believes that mental health and its care can also impact the country’s economy,
but she is not sure to what extent. She uses the workplace as an example and how productivity is
affected.
“If there are a greater number of employees suffering from depression, burnout and even
unmanageable or chronic stress, they will be absent,” Magpantay said.
Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez agrees, adding that when workers are too
stressed to work and are absent, there will be less services and products produced.
With less services and products offered and bought, it is possible that the country’s GDP may go
down, which can affect the country’s growth as a whole, Benavidez explained.
He said the DOLE is currently working on a department order to incorporate mental health care in
the workplace.
The order will be made in collaboration with medical experts and the DOH, the DOLE official
said, adding that it will set a list of standards and policies to be followed by both the private and
public sectors, similar to the existing Occupational Safety and Health Law (RA 11058).
Different strokes
WHILE the pending order is applicable to several sectors, Benavidez acknowledges there may be
some differences in execution based on the risks associated with a certain sector or job. It is also
very difficult to exactly pinpoint the stressors that each job and position may have.
Benavidez explained that the risks to mental health in the field of manufacturing may be different
from the field of interpersonal services, as one field deals with more people than the other. Some
fields are more fast-paced than others as well, which can also contribute to a higher risk for mental
health concerns, he explained.
While each sector has its own peculiarities and there may be no one standard to fit all of them,
Benavidez gave assurances the standards to be set will be applicable to all, as they want to treat
everyone equally.
“We need to ensure that everyone will be treated alike, whether if you’re of this mental condition
or otherwise,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Removing the stigma
THE main goal of the department order is to remove the stigma in the workplace. Aside from the
basic guarantees of the labor code such as minimum wage and overtime pay, all workers should
have an equal chance when it comes to hiring, continued employment, promotion, access to
training, training opportunities, and dismissal. No employee shall be dismissed without due
process or denied a hiring opportunity only on the grounds of a mental health condition.
Factors outside the workplace are also considered in the department’s development of standards,
according to Benavidez.
He said in the vernacular that it is difficult to apply the advice to workers not to bring family
matters or problems in the workplace.
“But that cannot be avoided,” Benavidez said.
He says the lack of a proper work-life balance is also a factor they are considering.
Certain jobs call for more work hours than others, which can also cause a strain on workers,
especially those who have travel times of multiple hours throughout the day. Workplace
environments wherein workers cannot air their concerns also deepen possible mental health strain.
NGO efforts
MANY nongovernment organizations (NGO) have also become more vocal and hands on with
their efforts in helping and spreading awareness. Other private-led institutions such as Mental
Health PH, Silakbo PH, Youth for Mental Health Coalition Philippines and the like are active in
their efforts online and offline as well to help educate Filipinos on mental health.
Silakbo PH Research Head Katha M. Estopace said their organization addresses issues on mental
health through different forms of art. They collect submissions that reflect, center or act as catharsis
for different mental health concerns in the forms of poetry, paintings, playlists and other forms of
art.
“It [art] makes you think, it makes you feel, it conveys a lot of things,” Estopace said.
Silakbo PH also hopes that with art, they can start a conversation and can encourage discourse and
openness among others. Estopace and her organization believe that the first step to better
understanding mental health is to start a discussion about what it is and educate one another
through these discussions. The idea is that with art and telling stories, it will be possible to
destigmatize and give more importance to mental health.
Devil’s details
DIFFERENT groups alongside Silakbo PH hold informative talks and workshops around the
country to better educate the masses on issues surrounding mental health. These talks sometimes
take place in schools, companies or any place accessible to the masses. Many of these groups, like
Mental Health PH, utilize social media to start conversations about the matter.
Magpantay said today’s technologies indeed have made it easier to de-stigmatize the issue.
“Because of the awareness and the information that were available, people are more out, they are
more courageous to tell and ask [for] help,” she told the BusinessMirror.
It will also help if more people come out with what Magpantay calls their “success stories.”
“Knowing that a certain condition is treatable, and there’s life after that, I think it will also give
more courage and lower that stigma,” Magpantay added.
Estopace said the passage of the Mental Health Law is considered a win for those of them who
support the cause.
However, she worries that there could be problems in its implementation.
While it’s a step forward for them to have a law to back them up, there is no assurance that it will
be implemented well.
“There’s a lot to be desired. I mean it’s good that we have a foundation but [as] always, the devil’s
in the details.”