Mental health advocates are pushing for the enactment of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for Republic Act 11036 or the Mental Health Law, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in June this year.
The Act establishes “a National Mental Health policy for the purpose of enhancing the delivery of integrated mental health services, promoting and protecting the rights of persons utilizing psychiatric, neurologic and psychosocial health services.”
“Before, drug addicts were jailed and even killed but with the passage of the law, drug addiction is now considered a disease,” said Atty. Genevieve Brandares-Paulino, Dean of the Cor Jesu Law School in Digos, Davao del Sur.
Her husband Patrick G. Paulino, runs the Serene Valley Recovery Center, Inc. in Digos, a spiritual recovery center that reaches out to those with substance use disorder, most of who could not afford the expensive treatments available.
Patrick himself has the disease of drug addiction and is trying to recover from the illness even as he goes around conducting fora to make young people aware of mental illness and the disease of drug addiction.
With the passage of the law, which was pending in Congress for 20 years, the approach now is for the recovery and reintegration of drug addicts to the society. The principal authors of the law are Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo for the House version and Senator Risa Hontiveros.
The Law defined drug addiction as a “chronic relapsing disease of brain reward, motivation, memory andrelated circuitry. Dysfunctions in the circuitry lead to characteristic biologicalpsychological, social and spiritual manifestations.”
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) and World Health Organization show that seven Filipinos commit suicide every day, with one in every five Filipino adults suffering from a form of mental health concern with depression and schizophrenia as the most common. In 2012 alone, a total of 2,558 suicide cases due to mental health problem was recorded in the country.
“Mental health is a basic human right and full access to mental health services is a fundamental human right,” Brandares-Paulino said. Rehabilitation and medical help is very expensive, she added.
In Digos City alone, there are many hospitals all capable of addressing a person’s physical health. “But there is no mental hospital in Davao del Sur because Congress did not find mental health important.”
The Mental Health Act mandates Philhealth to “ensure that insurance packages equivalent to those covering physical disorders of comparable impact are available to patients affected by mental disorders.”
At present, Philhealth has a package rate of P7,800 but it only covers the fees for hospitalization brought about by acute attacks of mental and behavioral disorders.
“Rehabilitation is very expensive and we hope that the IRR will already cover psychiatric consultations and medicines,” she said. As it is, patients and their family have to wait for an attack before they have Philhealth coverage.
Senator Sonny Angara earlier urged Philhealth to cover the psychiatric consultation fees and medicine so those who are afflicted with mental illness can get early intervention which is crucial in treating the condition.
Despite the increasing awareness on mental illness, there is still stigma attached to the condition. It is hoped that the signing of the law, whic
h came amid high profile suicides including that of Chef Anthony Bourdain who reportedly had problems with drugs, will help society understand mental health better.
h came amid high profile suicides including that of Chef Anthony Bourdain who reportedly had problems with drugs, will help society understand mental health better.
The Law mandates local government units to integrate mental health care in its basic health care services and update local hospitals with such services and personnel capable of providing mental health services.
Chapter IX of the Law on Mental Health for Drug Dependents specifically mentions the voluntary submission of drug dependents to confinement, treatment and rehabilitation.
Brandares-Paulino narrated how the family “adopted” someone suffering from depression, but who hanged himself and took his own life despite the love and care. “It was a big blow to us. We gave him love but we are not doctors.”
Mental health disorders and drug addiction are complicated condition. And as Brandares-Paulino said, “it is wrong to believe that mental disorders can be chased away by positive thinking without the help of a mental health professional.”
Adopting Baron Geisler: Wild Child No More?
In the course of the couple’s advocacy to help people deal with their mental disorders, they met celebrity Baron Frederick Von Geisler, who was also suffering from his own demons.
Before he became known as the WIld Child of television reality show “Pinoy Big Brother”, Baron Frederick Von Geisler or simply Baron Geisler to fans was on his way to becoming one of the local cinema’s best actors. He may have started his career with a stint in “Ang TV”, “Tabing Ilog” and some teeny bopper roles along the way but he has proven himself worthy to becoming one of the better actors among his batch and he even has Cinemalaya and PMPC Awards to prove that. Baron acted so naturally that he took over his character, whatever role he was playing at any given time.
But along with the accolades came the series of accusations against him including sexual harassment, unruly behavior and alcohol addiction among others. Baron was playing the bad boy role to the hilt for years. Unfortunately, he was not acting.
Some people thought that fame and fortune got into Baron’s head or simply a case of a celebrity whose ego has grown too big for comfort. However, it turns out that he was suffering from mental illness even before he entered show business.
“As a child I already showed signs of ADHD. I had plenty of toys and I always got what I want, if not I would cry the entire day and throw tantrums,” Baron said.
He attributed this attitude to having this feeling of “entitlement”, and it developed through the years and even when he entered show business.
“At the age of 12 (which was almost around the time he entered showbusiness) I started drinking alcohol, at 13 I started taking shabu.” He also narrated how he tried to commit suicide at the age of 10 just because “I didnt have it my way!”
Despite having a mother who was a disciplinarian and who won “use her belt to discipline me” Baron said his condition got worse because of peer pressure.
Since he was already earning his own money, he had his own car at 16, and at 21 had a mansion and was a “multimillionaire.”
“I had a lot of anger towards my mother.” he started seeing a psychiatrist at 19. But being in showbiz and hanging out with the wrong crowd did not help.
While he had not thought of it at that time, he realized now that he had a big house and lots of money but there was an “existential vacuum.” He had a comfortable life and a nice family, “but I was not satisfied with my life and so I was drinking and drugging.”
All of these were taken from him in many instances. “Our house burnt down, I was slapped with so many cases, acts of lasciviousness.”
Baron hit rock bottom when his mom died last year. Worse, his family got tired of his antics and gave him “tough love.” One of the worst things he did was to smoke inside a plane and that cigarettes “was the most expensive I smoked since I paid P50,000 for one stick so I would not end up in jail,” he added.
“I was given many chances nothing mattered because when I’m up there lumalaki ang ulo ko and I forget everything. That was until my friends in the business asked me to join their cell group and introduced me to Christ,” he said.
In October last year, a friend urged him to check into a rehabilitation center. “But I never believed in rehab; I had no God, I even pledged allegiance to Satan at one time” he said.
A violent altercation with his brother-in-law due to money issues sent Baron to jail. This, he believed, was his life’s turning point.
“I had to lie on filth and since no one visited me I had to beg so the guards would give me scraps of rice and fish; it was so degrading i had no choice but to ask God to get me out of that rotten place. And if he did, i promised to dedicate my life to him,” he said.
No one wanted to talk to him in jail, he settled for a dead cockroach which he named “johnny”. “I was so lonely for many days I was sleeping beside the cockroach and conversing with it, it was insane. The only thing that kept me sane was god’s word”
Then one day, a miracle happened. His sister and brother-in-law visited him and decided to dismiss the case against him.
“I asked their forgiveness and asked them to please bring me to Cebu as I want to be cured there,” he said. Finally, Baron found a center where he foudn meaning in is life. It was only then when he realized he had a purpose in life and that life was meaningless without god.
Despite that realization, Mr. von Geilsler admitted that every waking hour is a battle. He said he wakes up everyday feeling bad, and so he prays and ask god’s grace to cover him.
Baron said he has survived this far not only because of God’s words but also with the help of medication. It is important to see a doctor if you have a mental condition, he added.
“Keeping myself sober is hard. I am still a work in progress,” he said.
Baron has a different aura these days. He goes around talking to young people about his life and his struggle against mental illness. There is, however, no guarantee that he will totally recover, or even maintain being sober or sane. What’s important is that he has found his god, and he believes.
