There is a need to require education-based institutions to create their respective monitoring, early intervention, and prevention programs on cases of suicides among students and other young Filipinos.
For this purpose, Camarines Sur-based solons led by Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte filed House Bill (HB) 2895, or the proposed Suicide Prevention Act.
Under the measure, the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are mandated to put up an interragency task force on student suicides, which will craft and implement early intervention and prevention programs to address this alarming mental health concern.
“Suicide is not a crime, as most media reports tend to portray it. It is a serious problem that must be addressed,” said Villafuerte in a statement Tuesday, Oct. 25. October is Mental Health Awareness Month.
“The government, through the DepEd, CHED and TESDA, should take steps to raise awareness of student suicide as a serious public health program,” added the congressman, who is also the president of the National Unity Party (NUP).
In a report released on this year’s World Mental Health Day last Oct. 10, the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) revealed that the results of its 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5) pointed to a nearly twofold increase from 2013 to 2021 in the number of teens and young adults from 15 to 25 years of age who had experienced “suicidal ideation".
Suicidal ideation or thoughts is believed to be one symptom of a major emotional depression or mental illness characterized by having suicidal thoughts or thinking of ending one's life.
Villafuerte said there is a perception that mental health issues especially among the youth have been aggravated by the stringent lockdowns or mobility restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that many of these youngsters have also been victimized by cyberbullying, thus triggering emotional or psychological problems that might have prompted a number of them to think about or even try to commit suicide.
“In the Philippines, unfortunately, no concrete steps have been taken to determine the causes of suicide among the Filipino youth. Psychiatrists point out that children and young adults are prone to depression which sometimes leads to suicide,” the measure said.
Under HB 2895, the DepEd, CHED and TESDA—in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH)—shall develop and implement nationwide student suicide early intervention and prevention strategies in the various schools.
The three agencies shall collect and analyze data on nationwide student suicide early intervention and prevention services that can be used to monitor the effectiveness of such services and for research, technical assistance, and policy development.
Camarines Sur Reps. Miguel Luis Villafuerte (5th district) and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata (1st district), and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII also authored HB 2895.