Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero is pushing for a wider coverage of the Universal Health Care (UHC) program to include the promotion of mental health, and not just the treatment of mental health-related issues.
In his recent online conversation with Mindanao-based bloggers, Escudero said there is really a need to promote mental health and wellness that is strongly supported by the government due to the alarming rise in mental health-related cases in the country, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to the implementation of varying levels of quarantine restrictions.
According to the former senator, the country has to act with urgency to ensure that the citizenry’s mental health and wellbeing are properly taken care of and addressed.
“The Philippines has a long way to go… In fact, the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) is just known as ‘lalagyanan ng mga baliw.’ It only treats pero wala siyang facility talaga that promotes mental health, which is needed,” Escudero said.
“So, the first thing to be done actually is to convert the culture of the center for mental health that is limited to the treatment of illness into a center that promotes mental health,” he added.
Escudero shared with the bloggers that should he be given another chance to return to the Senate, he wants to actively push this advocacy as he has seen firsthand how his celebrity wife Heart Evangelista struggled with mental health issues two years ago.
The two-time senator said he is proud of his wife for openly talking about her experience to inspire other people to seek help and get the proper treatment.
Evangelista, who has 8.5 million followers on Instagram alone, later joined her husband in answering questions from the bloggers.
“Well, I sort of advocate it because I suffered a lot from depression and anxiety,” she admitted. “So, I really try to open the conversation with a lot of people and I think that’s very important to help raise awareness on the issue. It helps that people won’t be ashamed to talk about it because it’s really important to talk about it.”
For his part, Escudero said a lot of work has to be done to improve the system. “This includes a change in the orientation of ‘help’ to include psychological treatment kasi hindi siya kasama sa PhilHealth,” he said.
He also expressed hope that the telemed services under the UHC called Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (KONSULTA), which will be implemented in Sorsogon this month in partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), will consider providing consultations on mental health-related issues.
“So maraming mga hakbang na kailangan gawin, pero ang unang hakbang, sabi nga ni Heart, dapat hindi mahiyang pag-usapan; dapat tanggapin ang katotohanan,” he concluded.