forms of discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS so that they will not be
afraid to seek help; and intensively address the conditions that are the root causes of
HIV/AIDS like poverty, gender inequality, and marginalization. RA 11036 or the
Mental Health Act of the Philippines paves the way to a total integration of mental
health into the Philippines general healthcare system, the Mental Health Law will
provide patients and sufferers access to the benefits of government medical
insurance like PhilHealth.
Measures Taken by the Relevant Duty-Bearers
The ESCR Center conducted consultations with relevant national government
agencies (NGAs) in the national49 and regional50 level. The aim of the consultations
was to know how each of them contributes to the social protection framework of the
country, their key performance indicators (KPI), the challenges that the agency face
in the realization of its mandates, and their upcoming plans with respect to policy
and program development. We also asked the offices about the current social
protection situation in their constituency and how this affects their programs and
initiatives. The transcripts of the interviews and the data sent by the agencies, can be
viewed in Annexes 4-4.5
The DSWD as the lead social protection agency in the country, maintains that
the local government unit (LGU) is true implementer of social protection programs. 51
They provide the LGU with a Social Protection Development Manual which contains
guidelines on how to identify needs within their locale. As output, the LGU must
submit a situation report, and a social protection development report. The
implementation of national government initiatives happens at the local level and this
is where issues take place as the initiatives are not integrated in the local process.
49 Social Security System (5 March 2019), PhilHealth (11 March 2019), GSIS (through
email answered 5 April 2019)
50 Social Security System Digos Branch (23 April 2019), Department of Social Welfare and
Development Region XI (24 April 2019), and PhilHealth Region XI (24 April 2019)
51 Consultation with DSWD Region XI (24 April 2019)
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