CHD wants more funds for mental health unit

CEBU, Philippines — The Mental Health Unit of the Cebu City Health Department is pushing for additional budgetary support, as more people are reportedly approaching its office for aid.

As the unit is still in the process of downloading the services of the Mental Health Act in Cebu City, Dr. Mae C. Poblacion of the Mental Health Program of the Cebu City Health Department said that it has been a challenge to meet budgetary requirements, especially for medications and other services that are being offered for free.

She said her office currently needs more counseling rooms to accommodate the rising number of walk-in patients. She said that this also corresponded with the need for more psychometricians, while they are also looking for psychologists and psychiatrists.

“Because there are also walk-in patients who are really suffering from mental health illnesses but are still undiagnosed, we really need psychiatrists to diagnose and treat them,” she said.

Due to the lack of these professionals, Poblacion said her unit is currently referring their patients to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), which she called their “biggest partner.”

She said that the role of the mental health unit is to assess and issue a referral slip.

Poblacion, however, said that they are still involved in the medication stage once the VSMMC can provide a diagnosis.

Poblacion said that the free medication is a huge contributing factor that helps their patients, as not everyone can afford such treatments, which are expensive.

She cited an example of an injectable medication that costs around P8,000, which is being offered for free.

She also said that Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, along with the previous mayors, have been supportive the services provided by the mental health unit.

“Yes, we really need a very large budgetary allocation for this,” said Poblacion.

Among the future endeavors of the unit is the creation of a mental health van for the transportation of patients who tend to be violent. She highlighted the need for restraints and additional manpower to handle such cases.

According to her, their goal is to establish a unit in each health center that focuses solely on these cases.

She added that this is necessary because the scope of mental health is broad, affecting children, early adolescents, middle adulthood, and the elderly.

Currently, Poblacion said her office is conducting massive lectures on mental health, including partnerships with the Department of Education (DepEd) to cater to students.

In the same forum, the City Health also provided data on the cases they have handled since 2020.

Regarding suicide cases, the unit has recorded 43 in 2020; 40 in 2021; 18 in 2022; 62 in 2023; and 54 in 2024.

For this year, Cebu City has already recorded five suicide cases in January alone.

Regarding their Annual Mental Illness Registry in Cebu City, the City Health Department has profiled a total of 1,520 cases from 2021 until February 10, 2025.

Among these cases, the CCHD noted that Mood Disorders accounted for 289 cases, followed by Developmental Cases with 250, Epilepsy with 203, Substance Use Disorders with 104, PTSD and Anxiety Disorders with 73, Behavioral Disorders with 44, Dementia with 14, and one Somatic Symptom case.   JG (CEBU NEWS)