Bacolod City – An ordinance establishing the Bacolod City Crisis Intervention Facility, under the auspices of the City Health Office, creating a plantilla position, was approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod on first reading at a recent session.
The proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Em Ang, chair of the SP Committee on History, Culture, and Arts, said crisis situations encompass a spectrum of circumstances brought about by a problem or an emergency, which a person may find difficulty in coping without needed intervention. These situations may be present as family, economic and community situations, a significant life event, or secondary to a natural element, bringing about life-threatening concerns or mental health challenges.
Mental health can be drastically affected by rapid social change; stressful household, school, or work conditions; gender discrimination and sexual violence; social exclusion, unhealthy lifestyle, human rights violations, and physical ill-health, which may require interventional support from the community, it said.
The proposed ordinance said the local government of Bacolod is mandated by the Constitution and entrusted by the Bacolodnons to safeguard the health and well-being of every person under its care.
The present administration under the honorable Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has declared health as one of its priority programs, it added.
The proposed ordinance to be known as the “Crisis Intervention Facility Ordinance,” said the city of Bacolod is establishing the facility, which aims to provide 24-hour, 7-days-a-week action center to immediately act on cases of individuals and/or families in crisis situations.
The city government will establish the Crisis Intervention Facility in an easily accessible area, such as the BAYS Center Compound, or old Bacolod City Hall, or any appropriate site, it said.
The position of psychologist III, with salary grade 18/1 is created for the Crisis Intervention Facility. The position will require a licensed psychometrician, who will act as administrator of the center, under the supervision of a registered psychiatrist, the proposed ordinance said.
The amount of P13,123,023 million is appropriated from the general fund for the for its implementation, to wit: an initial amount of P10 million for the construction and/or renovation of the appropriate site for the Crisis Intervention Facility; P935,023 for the Personal Service allocation for the position of psychologist III and yearly, adjusted according to applicable laws and regulations; P1,188,000 for other General Services to cover 10 job order personnel for the succeeding year, adjusted according to applicable laws and regulations; and P1 million pesos for maintenance and other operating procedures for its first year of operations, and yearly as applicable. (Chrysee Semillano via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)