Mental health medications being offered for free in hospitals and health facilities in Metro Manila
An office under the Department of Health said it's offering free medicines for mental health.
In a post, the health agency's Metro Manila Center for Health Development said it's giving out Paliperidone Palmitate (150mg), Escitalopram (10mg), Lithium Carbonate (450mg), Quetiapine (200mg), Risperidone (2mg), and Clozapine (100mg).
The center said those who are getting the medicines must send their updated prescription to its email (mentalhealth.dohncr@gmail.com) and wait for confirmation.
All health centers in Manila serve as access sites alongside the Philippine General Hospital in Ermita and Jose R. Reyes Memorial Hospital in Santa Cruz, according to The Philippine STAR.
The MMCHD also shared a list of mental health access centers nationwide.
The initiative is part of the government's campaign to make medicines more accessible to Filipinos.
Throughout 2024, the Bureau of Internal Revenue—following an endorsement from the Food and Drugs Administration—exempted from value-added tax several mental illness medicines, as well as those for cancer and hypertension. It started imposing VAT exemptions on drugs for diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension in 2019.
BIR previously implemented additional VAT exemptions in April.
The FDA previously said the exemptions aim to alleviate the financial burden on patients, ensuring accessibility to essential medications. It’s in line with Republic Act No. 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.
