The House of Representatives approved on the third and final reading the measure that will establish the first mental health clinic in the Philippines on Tuesday, Sept. 28.
Under House Bill 9980, the country’s first mental clinic will be built in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. It will be funded and run by the local government unit (LGU) with the help of the Department of Health (DOH).
The clinic is expected to provide counseling, therapy, intervention, medication, after-hours care, and other psychiatric services.
According to the San Jose Del Monte Representative and author of the bill Florida Robes, the establishment of the clinic is timely due to the number of individuals experiencing mental health problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the DOH’s national health program, around 3.6 million Filipinos suffer from different mental health disorders. (PTV News)/NGS- bny
