The provincial government is set to renew its agreement with the Philippine Mental Health Association, Inc. (PMHAI) on the community-based promotion of the psychological and emotional well-being of Palaweños in addressing mental disorders.
In a press statement released by the Provincial Information Office (PIO) on Thursday, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) chief Abigail Ablaña said that the agreement with the non-stock, non-profit PMHAI is important to break off the increasing number of mental cases in the province.
Ablaña said Governor Jose Alvarez had already met last week with PMHAI president Lina Laygo, Dr. Carolina Rayco and other officials of the organization to initially discuss the renewal of the memorandum of agreement.
“Without mental health you cannot say that you are healthy. So napakahalaga na magkaroon ng malusog na pag-iisip ang isang tao dahil dito nakasalalay how you can be an effective person, an effective worker, an effective member of our society, kaya we want mental health to be one of the priorities,” Ablaña said.
Ablaña did not say how many mental cases Palawan has on record, but she said that the provincial government is continuously working with the PMHAI on this—knowing the province does not have enough mental health professionals.
“Patuloy ang ating pakikipagtulungan [sa PMHAI] dahil alam natin na kulang ang ating mga professionals on psychology and psychiatry dito sa Palawan,” she added.
She said that the PMHAI also had a meeting earlier with potential stakeholders that could help in running the program through the establishment of the Philippine Mental Health Palawan Chapter.
Another development happened on May 28, when a resolution was passed authorizing Governor Alvarez to renew the agreement with PMHAI.
The first memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the province and the PMHAI was signed in April 2018.
Based on the agreement, PMHAI agreed to conduct community mental health programs and provide psychiatric services on an out-patient basis to the residents of the province.
