Millennial Senator Camille Villar batted for the need to grant mental health wellness leave in public and private sectors, adding that the State affirms the basic right of all Filipinos to promote mental health.
The bill on mental health is among the second batch of proposed measures pushed by the neophyte senator. The measure seeks to grant mental health wellness leave of three days with full pay in private and public sectors.
“One of the objectives of the Mental Health Act is to develop and establish a comprehensive, integrated, effective, and efficient national mental health care system responsive to the psychiatric, neurologic, and psychosocial needs of the Filipino people,” Villar said in the explanatory note of the bill.
In the same vein, the senator also filed “An Act expanding Philhealth Coverage to include Benefit Package to All Mental Health Disorders and other Purposes” to further include coverage for mental health wellness.
On Monday, Villar also filed a measure that will provide mandatory insurance coverage and benefits, and hazard pay for journalists, employees of media entities on field assignments, and freelance journalists.
She also filed the Act Providing For Flexible Work Arrangements for Pregnant Woman and Postnatal Mothers; An Act Establishing Basic Life Skills Course In The High School Curriculum; An Act Establishing The “Ebooks for the Barangay Program; An Act Granting 13th Month Pay To Contractual and Job Order Personnel of the Government; An Act Mandating The Provision of Maternity Packages to Pregnant Filipino Women Belonging to the Low-Income Group; An Act Mandating Accessibility and Inclusivity In All Tourism Sites for Persons with Disability and Senior Citizens; An Act Providing Fresh Graduates Of Philippine Tertiary Education, Universities, Colleges, and Training Institutions Of A One-Time Cash Grant of P 5000, which they can use for job application and initial employment.
Last week, the millennial senator also filed measures that protect the welfare of women and children, among others. ###
