Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
       EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The State affirms the basic right of all Filipinos to mental health as well as the 
fundamental rights of people who require mental health services. In recognition of 
this right by the State, Republic Act 11036 or the Mental Health Act aims to create 24/7 
hotlines that would provide assistance to individuals with mental health conditions.  
In recognition of this right, and in support of the aforementioned Republic Act, 
this bill seeks to strengthen the mental health services of State Colleges and 
Universities. This bill ensures that there are trained professionals, as well as adequate 
staff, to cater to the needs of the students who are having mental health problems. 
Through the establishment of mental health offices in all State Universities and 
Colleges, it would adhere to the affirmation of the state to have health services readily 
available. The World Health Organization suggests that 15% of Filipinos in their youth 
are affected by mental health problems. This is exacerbated especially in the years of 
online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
This bill was first filed by Rep. Greg Gasataya in the 18th Congress. Without 
the passage of the bill in the 18th Congress, this bill is being refiled.  
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
August 30, 2022
8:02 am
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 Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  _________ 
Introduced by Representative 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
AN ACT  
STRENGTHENING THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES OF STATE 
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "State Universities and 
Colleges (SUCs) Mental Health Service Act". 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
uphold the basic right of every Filipino to sound mental health and ensure access to 
appropriate interventions, therapy, and treatments as needed. Pursuant to this 
mandate, the State shall institute policies to promote the mental health and wellness 
of students, faculty, teaching and non-teaching staff, and other personnel in the 
campuses of SUCs through, among others, the establishment of a Mental Health 
Office in all SUCs and the hiring, deployment, and training of additional SUC-based 
mental health service personnel.  
All SUCs shall ensure the proper and adequate mental health services are provided 
to their students, faculty, non-teaching staff and other personnel. In this regard, all 
SUCs, through their Mental Health Offices, shall design programs and provide 
services that shall assist students in resolving emotional, behavioral and psychosocial 
issues that are barriers to learning and enhance the preparedness of the faculty, 
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teaching, non-teaching staff, and other personnel to foster an enabling environment 
for students to acquire knowledge and to develop intellectually. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act: 
(a) Guidance counselor refers to an individual who possesses a license or 
certification granted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and 
holds at the minimum a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling, 
Guidance, or Counseling, without prejudice to those registered under the 
grandfather's clause of Republic Act. No. 9258, otherwise known as the 
“Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004”, and is competent to perform 
guidance and counseling, career guidance and implement mental health 
programs;  
(b) Mental health refers to a state of well-being in which the individual realizes 
one's own abilities and potentials, copes adequately with the normal stresses 
of life, displays resilience in the face of extreme life events, works productively 
and fruitfully, and is able to make a positive contribution to the community;  
(c) Mental health professional refers to a medical doctor, nurse, guidance counselor, 
psychologist, or any appropriately trained and qualified person with specific 
skills relevant to, and necessary for, the provision of mental health services; 
(d) Mental health services refer to the psychosocial, psychiatric, or neurologic 
activities and programs along the whole range of the mental health support 
services including promotion, prevention, treatment and aftercare, which are 
provided by mental health facilities and mental health professionals. 
(e) Psychologist refers to a natural person who has professional training and 
clinical skills in psychotherapeutic intervention and assessment for mental 
health problems and possesses a license or certification granted by the PRC 
and holds at the minimum, a master’s degree in Psychology without prejudice 
to those granted licenses under the grandfather's clause of Republic Act No. 
10029, otherwise known as the “Psychology Act of 2009”; 
(f) SUCs-based mental health service personnel refers to any mental health 
professional who is hired or deployed by, or has a contract with a SUC to 
render mental health services in each campus of the SUC. 
SECTION 4. Establishment of Mental Health Offices in All SUCs Campuses. — The 
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall, subject to the rules and regulations 
of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Budget and 
Management (DBM), and the policies, standards, and guidelines of the CHED, 
require all SUCs to establish a Mental Health Office and all their campuses. 


The Mental Health Offices shall set up campus hotlines with dedicated and trained 
guidance counselors to provide assistance to the whole SUC Community, especially 
the students. Special attention shall be given to those identified to have mental health 
problems or conditions, especially those at risk of committing suicide.  
The CHED and SUCs, through their Mental Health Offices, shall initiate and sustain 
a heightened campaign to raise the collective consciousness about mental health. The 
awareness campaign should give special emphasis to the issues of suicide 
prevention, stress handling, mental health and nutrition, and guidance and 
counseling. The campaign should ensure that the whole SUC community, especially 
the students, is aware of in-campus mental health services.  
The SUCs, through the Mental Health Offices, shall develop and provide for 
sufficient allocation for mental health programs and projects designed to maintain 
and address the mental health and well-being of the faculty, students, and personnel 
of the SUCs.  
Each Mental Health Office shall be manned by, train and deploy mental health 
professionals who shall serve as the mental health service personnel of the SUCs. 
The SUCs-based mental health service personnel of the Mental Health Offices, 
including those who shall be hired upon the effectivity of this Act, shall create a 
mechanism for timely crisis intervention and suicide prevention and the appropriate 
response strategies for the whole SUCs community, especially the students. 
The CHED shall, in coordination with the SUCs, establish mechanisms to maximize 
existing services offered by other executive departments such as the attached 
agencies to the Department of Health (DOH) dealing with mental health and the 
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). 
SECTION 5. Hiring, Training and Deployment of Mental Health Professionals. - 
Subject to the guidelines set by the CHED, Civil Service Commission (CSC), 
Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the SUCs, the SUCs shall hire, 
train and deploy mental health professionals, including a psychologist, to the Mental 
Health Office to ensure that each SUC shall have mental health professionals or 
mental health service providers within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act. 
The SUCs shall, in coordination with the CHED, prepare the appropriate plantilla 
positions for the additional SUC-based mental health service personnel to be hired 
under this Act subject to the existing organizational staffing, position classification 
and compensation policies, rules, and regulations to be submitted to the DBM for 
evaluation and approval.  


Notwithstanding the provisions of Republic Act No. 9258, otherwise known as the 
“Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004”, the SUCs may hire, as may be necessary, 
graduates with relevant background in psychology or similar fields, who do not yet 
qualify as mental health professionals to provide SUCs-based mental health services: 
Provided, That they undergo sufficient capacity building as determined by the CHED 
are and are supervised by qualified mental health professionals in their provision of 
mental health services: Provided, further, That they meet the relevant qualifications 
and are licensed as mental health professionals within three (3) years from their date 
of hiring.  
The CHED and the SUCs, through the Mental Health Offices, shall formulate a 
scheme for the continuous training of mental health service personnel, taking into 
consideration the latest information, studies and know-how on mental health 
services, in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10192, otherwise 
known as the “Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016”. 
SECTION 6. Professional and Career Development of Mental Health Professionals.. 
— The CHED shall, in coordination with the DBM, CSC, DOH and the PRC: 
(a) Prepare a uniform career and personal development plan that shall include 
provisions on personal wellness, merit promotion, performance evaluation, in-
service training, graduate scholarships, research grants, and incentive award 
system; 
(b) Match the salary grades of mental health professionals with related plantilla 
items under the provisions of Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise known as the 
“Position Classification and Compensation Act of 1989,” as amended; 
(c) Align the qualifications and standards for the qualification of Mental Health 
Professionals to the provisions of Republic Act No. 10968, otherwise known as 
the “Philippine Qualifications Framework Act”; 
(d) Revisit the organizational structure  of the SUCs to provide competent and 
professional personnel who shall provide supervision and technical assistance 
to the guidance counselors; 
(e) Review, revise, and develop the duties and responsibilities of mental health 
professionals in accordance with laws governing their professions; 
(f) Prepare a performance evaluation plan that considers the improvement of the 
efficiency and organizational effectiveness of each counselor: Provided, That 
each employee shall be informed regularly by the immediate supervisor of 
one's performance evaluation; and 
(g) Provide periodic training, retooling and skills upgrading to mental health 
professionals. 
  


SECTION 7. Salary Scale. — The career and salary scales of mental health 
professionals in SUCs shall provide for a gradual progression from a minimum to a 
maximum salary by means of regular increments, to be given regularly based on 
merit and competencies. 
The entry level of mental health professionals shall not be lower than Salary Grade 
16. Psychometricians shall have, as entry level, Salary Grade 11. 
SECTION 8. Contract with SUCs-Based Mental Health Personnel. - In case of scarcity 
of available mental health service personnel for full time employment in the Mental 
Health Offices of the SUCs, the SUCs may enter into agreements for their hiring on a 
contractual part-time basis in the campuses of the SUCs. 
SECTION 9. Benefits. - The Mental Health Professionals in the Mental Health Offices 
shall enjoy the rights, privileges and other benefits provided in Republic Act No. 
7305, otherwise known as the “Magna Carta of Public Health Workers”, Republic Act 
No. 11036, otherwise known as the “Mental Health Act” and other pertinent laws. 
SECTION 10. Appropriation. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this Act shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act. 
SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days after 
the effectivity of this Act, the CHED shall, in coordination with the DOH, the 
Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges, and other concerned 
stakeholders, issue the rules and regulations necessary for the hiring, training and 
deployment of the SUCs-based guidance counselors, psychologists and other mental 
health service personnel, and for the implementation of this Act. 
SECTION 12. Suppletory Application. — The applicable provisions of Republic Act 
No. 11036, otherwise known as the “Mental Health Act”, insofar as they are not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply suppletorily. 
SECTION 13. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected, shall remain 
in full force and effect. 
SECTION 14. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary 
to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 15. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 


Approved.