Mental Health Act: Your Rights Under RA 11036
Health · benefits
Quick answer
RA 11036, the Mental Health Act, was approved 20 June 2018. It gives service users 20 named rights, requires written informed consent before treatment, and punishes discrimination or breach of confidentiality with 6 months to 2 years in prison or a fine of ₱10,000.00 to ₱200,000.00.
Every figure on this page is from LawPhil Project's own published documents.
Last verified 1 source, listed below
Republic Act No. 11036, the Mental Health Act1. PHGuides is independent and not affiliated with any agency.
The Mental Health Act, Republic Act No. 11036, was approved 20 June 2018. Most coverage of it stops at “the Philippines now has a mental health law”. The Act itself is a list of enforceable rights with a penalty clause attached, and that is the useful part.
The 20 rights
Section 5 enumerates 20 rights, lettered (a) to (t), held on an equal and nondiscriminatory basis. Among them:
| Right | Section 5 |
|---|---|
| Freedom from social, economic and political discrimination and stigmatization, whether by public or private actors | (a) |
| Exercise of all civil, political, economic, social, religious, educational and cultural rights without discrimination | (b) |
| Evidence-based treatment of the same standard and quality regardless of age, sex, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation | (c) |
| Access to affordable essential health and social services | (d) |
| Access to mental health service at all levels of the national health care system | (e) |
| Comprehensive, coordinated, user-driven treatment and recovery planning | (f) |
| Care and treatment in the least restrictive environment and manner | (g) |
| Humane treatment free from solitary confinement, torture and other cruel or inhumane treatment | (h) |
Those rights are framed against the Constitution, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, so they are not standalone inventions of the statute.
Consent is the spine of the Act
| Rule | Section |
|---|---|
| Informed consent must be given in writing before treatment | 8 |
| You may set treatment preferences in a signed, dated advance directive | 9 |
| You may designate a legal representative of legal age | 10 |
| You may designate up to 3 supporters for supported decision making | 11 |
| Facilities, public and private, must create an internal review board | 12 |
Supporters are not a formality. They may access your medical information, be consulted on any proposed treatment, and be present during appointments and consultations.
When consent can be overridden, and for how long
Section 13 allows treatment or restraint without consent during a psychiatric or neurologic emergency, or where capacity is impaired or temporarily lost. Four conditions attach.
| Safeguard | Detail |
|---|---|
| Advance directives | Must be complied with if available, unless that poses an immediate risk of serious harm |
| Necessity | Only to the extent necessary, and only while the emergency or incapacity persists |
| Review | Order reviewed by the internal review board within 15 days, and every 15 days thereafter while it continues |
| Documentation | Strict compliance with approved guidelines, fully documented, subject to external independent monitoring, review and audit |
The 15-day cycle is the number to remember. Restraint that has never been reviewed by an internal review board is outside the Act.
The penalty
| Imprisonment | Not less than 6 months, not more than 2 years |
| Fine | Not less than ₱10,000.00, not more than ₱200,000.00 |
| Or | Both, at the court’s discretion |
Four acts are punishable:
- Failure to secure informed consent, outside the exceptions
- Violation of confidentiality of information
- Discrimination against a person with a mental health condition
- Administering inhumane, cruel, degrading or harmful treatment not based on medical or scientific evidence
Where a juridical person commits the violation, the penalty falls on the directors, officers, employees or other officials responsible. An alien offender is deported immediately after serving sentence. None of it displaces separate administrative or civil liability of the offender or the facility.
What schools and employers owe you
This is the part with the widest reach, and it is two short sections.
| Who | Duty | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Schools, colleges, universities, technical schools | Policies and programmes to raise awareness, identify and support those at risk, and provide referral mechanisms | 24 |
| All public and private educational institutions | Required to have a complement of mental health professionals | 24 |
| Employers | Develop mental health policies and programmes, correct stigma and discrimination, identify and support affected staff | 25 |
Section 24’s second sentence is an obligation on every school, not an aspiration. The OSH compliance guide covers the wider DOLE workplace safety regime employers sit under.
Who runs it
| Body | Detail |
|---|---|
| Philippine Council for Mental Health | 9 members, chaired by the Secretary of Health |
| Government members | DepEd, DOLE, DILG, CHR, CHED |
| Non-government members | 1 from academe or research, 1 from medical or health professional organizations, 1 from NGOs |
| Their term | 3 years; a replacement serves only the unexpired term |
| Identified within | 30 days of effectivity |
| DOH Mental Health Division | Under the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau; runs the National Mental Health Program and acts as Council secretariat |
LGUs report quarterly to the Council through the DOH, covering numbers served, conditions, duration and result of treatment, and demographics, without disclosing identities.
Regional, provincial and tertiary hospitals, including private hospitals serving paying patients, must provide psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services under Section 18.
Two numbering errors in the published text
This page prints them rather than quietly correcting them, because they affect how the Act is cited.
| Where | What it says | What it appears to mean |
|---|---|---|
| After Section 47 | Repealing Clause numbered Section 15, Effectivity numbered Section 18 | Should follow Section 47 in sequence |
| Section 44(a) | Cross-refers to exceptions to informed consent “under Section 18” | The exceptions are at Section 13 |
The same pattern appears elsewhere in Philippine statutes, and the FSIC guide covers the Fire Code clause whose words and numerals disagree by a factor of 10.
What this page does not cover
RA 11036 publishes no fee, no list of accredited facilities and no treatment protocol, so none is stated here. The implementing rules, due within 120 days of effectivity, govern procedure and were not read for this guide.
It also does not set out how to file a complaint in practice. Section 33 routes complaints of improprieties to the DOJ and the CHR, but the mechanics sit in their own issuances.
Related
The PWD ID guide covers the identification card, which a mental health condition can qualify for, the PhilHealth case rates guide covers how PhilHealth pays for confinement, and the OSH compliance guide covers the employer duties Section 25 sits beside.
Frequently asked questions
- What is RA 11036?
- The Mental Health Act, approved 20 June 2018. It establishes a national mental health policy, sets out the rights of people using mental health services, and creates the Philippine Council for Mental Health.
- Can I be treated without my consent?
- Not normally. Section 8 requires informed consent in writing before treatment. Section 13 allows exceptions during a psychiatric or neurologic emergency, or where decision-making capacity is impaired or temporarily lost, but only under four safeguards.
- How long can involuntary treatment or restraint last?
- It has to be reviewed every 15 days. The attending professional's order must be reviewed by the facility's internal review board within 15 days of the order, and every 15 days after that while the treatment or restraint continues.
- What is a supporter?
- Under Section 11 you may designate up to 3 people, including your legal representative, for supported decision making. They can access your medical information, be consulted on proposed treatment, and be present at your appointments.
- What is an advance directive?
- A signed and dated statement of your treatment preferences, under Section 9. If you have one, a facility must comply with it even in an emergency, unless doing so would pose an immediate risk of serious harm to you or another person.
- Is discrimination illegal?
- Yes, and it carries a penalty. Discrimination against a person with a mental health condition is one of 4 punishable acts, alongside failure to secure informed consent, breach of confidentiality, and inhumane treatment not based on medical evidence.
- What is the penalty?
- Imprisonment of not less than 6 months but not more than 2 years, or a fine of not less than ₱10,000.00 but not more than ₱200,000.00, or both, at the court's discretion. For a company the penalty falls on the responsible directors, officers or employees.
- Does my school or employer have to do anything?
- Yes. Section 24 requires all public and private educational institutions to have a complement of mental health professionals and to run awareness and referral programmes. Section 25 requires employers to develop mental health policies and correct stigma.