Go supports amendment to Mental Health Act
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and mental health experts have pushed for amendments to the Mental Health Act (MHA) amid concerns on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to persons with mental health problems.
The Senate Health and Demography committee, headed by Go, held a virtual public hearing last Thursday on Senate Bill ( SB) 1471 that seeks to amend Section 5 of the MHA by inserting a new provision in order that the service user shall receive benefits or compensation if the user have mental issues in the course of performing work.
The senator emphasized that people’s mental health should be valued, especially during times of crisis. He claimed many individuals these days were experiencing varying forms of depression, particularly among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families, stressing that sadness cannot be paid.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, principal author of SB 1471, said he aimed to amend the MHA following the incident in which former soldier Winston Ragos was fatally shot by police officers last April 21. Ragos was said to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Go asked the resource persons, composed mostly of mental health experts, about the services that were being done to safeguard the people’s psychological wellbeing during the global health crisis, especially for OFWs.
Dr. Napoleon Arevalo said the mental health hotline launched by the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) was one initiative that aimed to reach out to Filipinos who were suffering from mental health issues during the pandemic.
Dr. Roland Cortez of the NCMH added that there had been a sharp increase in calls since the lockdown measures, citing that this was clear evidence that people were experiencing higher levels of stress during the pandemic.
He added that the NCMH had been working with other agencies to look after the mental wellbeing of Filipinos, including returning OFWs who were in distress.
“We are also happy to inform the general public that we are in support of other agencies where our teams are called to evaluate our OFWs who are experiencing some degree of problems, mentally. Our teams are actually there to support all these agencies that need our interventions and evaluation,” Cortez said.
Assistant Secretary Teresita Cucueco of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said they fully supported the legislative measure, adding that their agency also helped in alleviating mental health conditions of people at work through compensation benefits.
“The DoLE fully supports the bill as work-relatedness of mental health conditions have long been proven… We just also want to manifest to the body that the Employees Compensation Commission of the DoLE can also provide compensation benefits for workers who may experience mental health conditions: stress at work, conditions at work that may lead to these mental health conditions and affect the workers,” she added.
Upon ending the hearing, Go said with or without the coronavirus, the health of every Filipino is very important and should not be taken for granted.