Quick read: • The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), with help from the Department of Justice (DOJ), is responsible for investigating mental health services, facilities, and treatment methods. They also protect and uphold the human rights of people living with mental health disabilities. • The Department of Health (DOH), like the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), prioritizes mental health research and reporting of data. • NCMH is tasked to develop wide-ranging training programs that combine hospital-based and community-based health care. • The Philippine Council for Mental Health (PCMH) must develop and run a unified and integrated mental health service delivery network. • It’s the responsibility of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Civil Service Commission (CSC) to establish guidelines in upholding workers’ mental health rights in the workplace. They must also create programs that will discourage stigma and discrimination against workers living with mental health conditions. How Can Your Community Promote Mental Health Care? Bayanihan is a way of life that’s deeply ingrained in every Filipino. It’s in how Pinoys use social media to raise funds to help a homeless banana cue vendor. It’s in how help (in cash and kind) miraculously appears every time the country is ravaged by yet another typhoon. And it’s in how community pantries sprouted up on streets all over the country to feed the hungry for free at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources: About Us. (n.d.). Commission on Human Rights. https://chr.gov.ph/about-us/ Chua, D., Nuñez, M. (2021, October 2). Republic Act No. 11036—The Mental Health Act: A Law on the Silent Pandemic on Mental Health. Philippine Legal Research. https://legalresearchph.com/2021/10/02/republic-act-no-11036-the-mentalhealth-act-a-law-on-the-silent-pandemic-on-mental-health/ The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. (n.d.). Official Gazette. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/ constitutions/1987-constitution/ Republic Act No. 11036. (n.d.). Congress of the Philippines. https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/republic_acts/ra%2011036.pdf In the government’s quest to uphold and protect the rights of people living with mental health conditions, as well as those of mental health professionals, the spirit of bayanihan is as necessary as ever. In fact, a 2018 study published in the National Library of Medicine found increasing evidence of the sweeping effectivity of mental health interventions done by communities outside of a hospital setting. Unfortunately, says Rodelen Paccial, M.D., of Mariveles Wellness and General Hospital, there are still no community-based mental health services available in the Philippines. Given the lack of financial support, manpower, and resources, it’s just not sustainable. The Rural Health Units (RHUs) are overwhelmed with other matters. And barangays don’t receive enough funding to carry out mental health programs. 49 50