Nation

DOH Breaks Ground on First Mental Health and Drug Rehab Facility for Negros Island Region

The Department of Health accepted a 30,000-square-meter land donation in Sipalay City to build the first dedicated mental health and drug rehabilitation facility serving Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

Illustration: a groundbreaking ceremony at an empty construction site in the Negros countryside
Illustration: a groundbreaking ceremony at an empty construction site in the Negros countryside — PostNetNews (AI-generated editorial illustration)

The Department of Health, through Undersecretary Mary Ann Maestral, signed a deed on September 20 accepting a 30,000-square-meter land donation from Negrense philanthropist Merceditas Montilla, at a ceremony in Bacolod City.

The donated lot in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, will host the Merceditas J. Montilla Mental Hospital and Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Center — the first dedicated mental-health and drug-rehabilitation facility for the entire Negros Island Region, covering Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. It will be managed by the state-run Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital under a government-private partnership.

Officials described the signing as "our first tangible step" toward the facility; no construction timeline or opening date has been announced yet.