• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
An ordinance institutionalizing a barangay-based mental health program, thus strengthening Bacolod City’s mental health services through a barangay-centered life course perspective, was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first reading on November 12.
Authored by Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., the measure called “Mental Health Care Ordinance of Bacolod City”, tasked the Bacolod City Health Department through the Bacolod City Mental Health Center as the lead implementing agency. It also allocates a P1 million budget to initiate said integrated and comprehensive program.
Gamboa said the proposed ordinance is grounded on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thus recognizes the rights of persons with mental disabilities to equality, dignity, privacy, autonomy, and participation.
The proposed ordinance highlighted Bacolod City’s commitment to uphold the basic right of every individual to mental health by training and enabling barangay-based frontline workers to deliver appropriate mental health interventions—ranging from prevention and protection to care, treatment, and rehabilitation.
The proposed ordinance seeks to reorganize the 2015 Bacolod City Mental Health Committee into the new Bacolod City Mental Health Council (BCMHC) that will serve as the central coordinating body for policy formulation, planning, and implementation.
The BCHC will be chaired by the Mayor, Vice Mayor as vice-chair and the Bacolod City Health Department acting as secretariat; its membership includes representatives from key city departments, SP committees, the youth sector, public education, labor, legal affairs, planning, gender and development, and barangay leadership.
The Council also welcomes the participation of two representatives from a private organization or NGOs, representatives from the General Parents Teachers Community Association (GPTCA), Philippine Psychological Association, Philippine Psychiatric Association and the Academe or involved in Health Research.
The BCMHC is mandated to develop, regularly review and implement the Bacolod City Mental Health Action Plan, renew and update said action plan, and submit annual progress reports to the Office of the Mayor, the SP, and council members.
Gamboa stressed that the proposed ordinance, if enacted, will lead the way for a more responsive and accessible mental health care system in Bacolod City—strengthening services throughout all barangays and integrating them into broader public health and social support structures.*
