The proposed House Bill 6416, or the SUCs Mental Health Service Act, was passed on third and final reading on Monday with 227 legislators voting in favor during the chamber's final week of plenary sessions.

The House-approved measure aims to strengthen the mental health services in state universities and campuses for the benefit of its community, particularly its students.

"This representation believes that it is high time for Congress to start taking the mental health of students more seriously," Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, who voted yes for the bill's passage, said.

Manuel further said students' right to study and develop as critical and competent citizens without being hampered by socioeconomic barriers to mental health services.

The bill requires mental health offices to establish campus hotlines staffed by dedicated and trained guidance counselors to assist the entire sue community, particularly students, with special attention paid to those identified with mental health problems or conditions and those at risk of committing suicide.

It also requires each mental health office to hire, train, and deploy mental health professionals who will serve as SUC service personnel and to ensure that all SUCs have access to at least three SUCs-based mental health service personnel, including one psychologist, at any given time through these offices.

Section 4 of the bill directs the Commission on Higher Education to require all SUCs to establish a Mental Health Office on each of their campuses, subject to the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission 3 and the Department of Budget and Management, as well as the CHED's policies, standards, and guidelines.