Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1541)
The primary purpose of Presidential Decree No. 1541 is to establish the Lungsod Silangan Mental Health Center and to provide for a 5-year decentralization program of the National Mental Hospital, including the creation of regional mental health centers and a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
The Lungsod Silangan Mental Health Center operates under the supervision of the Department of Health.
The Center shall be headed by a chief of hospital assisted by one or more assistant chiefs and such staffs and operating units as may be organized pursuant to law.
The Center aims to: 1) Provide treatment, care, and rehabilitation of the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed; 2) Promote good mental health and help prevent mental disorders; 3) Train mental health professionals and sub-professionals; and 4) Conduct research on mental illness and mental health.
Regional mental health centers are created in the twelve (12) health regions of the country to decentralize mental health services, thereby making mental health care more accessible and efficient across the country.
The present National Mental Hospital shall be retained for purposes of training and research in mental health.
The Secretary of Health supervises the mental hospital for the criminally insane created under this decree.
Funding for the establishment of the Center comes from Metro Manila Commission Funds, the Calamity Fund of the Office of the President, a loan from the GSIS, and allocations in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The Project Management Staff of the Department of Health, created under Presidential Decree No. 568, is authorized to undertake and supervise the implementation of the projects in coordination with the National Mental Health Hospital authorities.
The Secretary of Health is authorized to call upon any department, bureau, agency, or instrumentality of the government for assistance necessary to effectively implement the decree.