Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes is asking the Senate to pass a counterpart bill to the House of Representatives' bid to promote pro-mental health measures in schools.
This, after the neophyte solon described as "alarming" the figures pertaining to suicide among Filipino youth.
“It is incumbent upon us, lawmakers, to safeguard the mind and mental health of the young. I call for the immediate passage of policies towards the institutionalization of stronger and more comprehensive school-based mental health programs to ensure a more functional and more productive society in the coming years," Reyes said in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 21.
"As such, we call on the Senate to pass a counterpart bill seeking to strengthen the mental health services in schools,” he said.
The House has already passed on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No. 6574 or the “Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act”, primarily authored by Pasig City district Rep. Roman Romulo and co-authored by Reyes.
For it to prosper toward possible enactment, a counterpart measure must be filed and passed by senators. HB No.6574 was transmitted to the Senate last Feb. 1.
It directs the Department of Education (DepEd) to recruit, train, and hire additional mental health professionals in all public schools and adequately address various mental, emotional, and developmental needs of students, teachers, and school personnels.
During a House Committee on the Welfare of Children briefing Monday, the Department of Health (DOH) cited a 2021 study saying that 17 percent of children and adolescents have reported having thoughts of committing suicide.
The DOH report further enumerated that the suicide ideation number has risen from 597,000 kids in 2013, to 1.5 million kids in 2021.
What worse is that only 7 percent of the latter number sought help from their parents or guardians as opposed to the 25 percent who sought advice from their peers.
“This is alarming. Our children spend most of their time learning to navigate life from what they learn at school. Their young minds are still in their formative years, and with the data showing that our children prefer seeking help from their friends than their guardians only show that professional help is much needed,” Reyes said.