House bill providing mental health services in SUCs OK”d on final reading

The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that requires state universities and colleges (SUCs) to have mental health offices in their campuses for the benefit of the community, especially the students. 

This developed after House Bill 6416 or Mental Health Services bill for SUCs was approved with 227 yes votes, zero negative votes and zero abstentions.  House Bill 6416 also directs the mental health offices to set up campus hotlines with dedicated and trained guidance counselors to provide assistance to the whole sue community, especially the students, with special attention given to those identified to have mental health problems or conditions and those at risk of committing suicide. 

Likewise, the measure mandates each mental health office to hire, train, and deploy mental health professionals who will serve as the service personnel of the SUCs and to ensure that all SUCs, through these offices, will have access to the services of at least three SUCs-based mental health service personnel, including one psychologist, at any given time.  

“This will ensure access to appropriate interventions, therapy, and treatment as needed as well as design programs and provide services that shall assist students in SUCs in resolving emotional, behavioral and psychosocial issues and address their being barriers to learning,” the committee report on the measure read.

“This measure is also to enhance the preparedness of the faculty , teaching and non-teaching staff, and other personnel of SUCs to foster or support an enabling environment for students to acquire knowledge and to develop intellectually,” it added.  

The bill also provides that the Commission on Higher Education, in coordination with the SUCs, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Civil Service Commission, Department of Health and Professional Regulation Commission, among others, will prepare a uniform career and personnel development plan that will include provisions on personal wellness, merit promotion, performance evaluation, in-service training, graduate scholarships, research grants  and incentive award system. 

In addition, the bill provides that CHED, in coordination with other abovementioned government agencies, should match the salary grades of mental health professionals with related plantilla items under the provisions of Republic Act No. 6758 or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 as amended.  

The SUCs-based mental health service personnel of the Mental Health Offices, including those who will be hired under this Act will also have to create a mechanism for timely crisis intervention and suicide prevention and the appropriate response strategies for the whole SUCs community, especially the students.  

The bill also tasks the CHED and the SUCs, through the mental health offices, to initiate and sustain a heightened campaign to raise collective consciousness about mental health, as well as authorizes the CHED and the SUCs, through the mental health offices, to formulate a scheme for the continuous training of mental health service personnel, taking into consideration the latest information, studies and know-how on mental health and mental health services, in accordance with the Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016. 

Lastly, the bill provides that CHED and the SUCs, in coordination with the DBM, should finalize the appropriate plantilla positions for the additional sues-based mental health service personnel to be hired for the mental health offices provided under this Act.

“We believe that the students have a right to student and develop oneself as a critical and competent citizen without being hampered by the socio-economic barriers in accessing mental health services,” Kabataan party-list Representative Raoul Manuel, one of the authors of the bill, said in his explanation of his yes vote on Monday.  

“This bill is one of the many milestones that we must pass to actualize that right and I hope Congress will continue to walk on this path,” Manuel added. — BM, GMA Integrated News

House bill providing mental health services in SUCs OK”d on final reading
Source: Filipino Viral News PH