Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte highlighted the importance of addressing mental health problems during the National Mental Health Summit at SM Aura Premier in Taguig held on Saturday, Oct. 29.

“Napakahalagang pag-usapan ang mental health kasi (It is very important to talk about mental health because) the more you talk about it, the less it becomes taboo and the less it becomes a stigma and the more mainstream it becomes. That is what we want. We want to consider it as a regular illness na pwedeng gamutin at pagalingin ( that can be treated and cured),” Belmonte said.

“The right to health, that includes the right to mental health, is a fundamental right we all must strive to achieve,” the city mayor said.

There has been a steady increase in the incidence of suicide for the past five years, with an average of 96 suicides in QC annually, according to data from the Quezon City Police District.

It also showed that a 52 percent increase in the figure was recorded from 2018 to 2020.

Belmonte, meanwhile, noted that insufficient and unavailability of data is also a hindrance in addressing mental health-related issues.

“We in Quezon City recognize that the non-health related programs and services that we provide can have a significant impact on the mental well-being of our constituents,” said Belmonte.

“This is also the reason why each year, our administration continues to diversify our portfolio of social services,” the mayor added.

The chief executive then mentioned the enactment of the Quezon City Mental Health code which incorporates all the existing mental health programs of the city government. Under the proposed QC Mental Health Code, the city will intensify the initiatives of the local government.

Trainings and awareness-raising among local service providers including city hall employees, barangay officials, and school teaching and non-teaching personnel are being conducted.

The city mayor also said she is planning for the expansion of the Mental Wellness Access Hubs in the communities to further capacitate them in conducting assessments, diagnosis, crisis intervention, and disbursement of free prescription medication. A 24/7 Mental Health Hotline, linked to service providers, will also be established to respond to emergency calls from residents. Moreover, the city government also plans to establish a Mental Health Half-way Home that will serve as a temporary housing facility for recovering service users and will offer therapy, vocational training, and job coaching.

It will also create an information and service delivery network that will pool together all specialists and will serve as a referral network to assist service users and their families as well as service providers.

For fiscal year 2023, the city also increased the budget for social services to more than P17 billion, or 51 percent of the total budget.

“We have made strides but much has yet to be done. Stigma is enemy number one. This is a barrier to health-seeking behaviour even when access is present. Just like in all aspects of the human experience where discrimination exists, ignorance is the great obstacle of every human right.” the mayor said.