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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senate bill seeks stronger mental health services in basic education

Senate bill seeks stronger mental health services in basic education

Published Jan 31, 2023 12:41 pm

Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid is now pushing passage of a bill that seeks to strengthen the promotion and delivery of mental health services amid the rising cases of mental health issues among learners and school personnel.

Lapid, in filing Senate Bill No. 1795 or the proposed “Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act” which aims to put up Mental Health and Well-being Offices in every schools division to address the mental, emotional and development needs of learners and personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd), stressed the importance of addressing mental heath illness in the basic education level.

“Nakakabahala itong pagtaas ng kaso ng anxiety, stress at depression hindi lang sa ating mga mag-aaral, kundi pati na rin sa ating mga teaching and non-teaching personnels (This is a worrying increase in cases of anxiety, stress and depression not only among our students, but also among our teaching and non-teaching personnel),” Lapid said.

The Department of Health (DOH) has estimated that at least 3.6 million Filipinos faced mental health issues during the pandemic.

Despite the rise in cases, Lapid said it is saddening that there is little recognition on the gravity of mental health issues.

“Just recently, on January 20, 2023, a 13-year-old male student was stabbed by his 15-year-old classmate inside the Culiat High School. Further, on January 23, 2023, a senior high school student died after falling from the ninth floor of a building inside the school premises,” Lapid said in the bill’s explanatory note.

“Hindi natin gusto na magkaroon pa ng mga ganitong kaso sa hinaharap. Kaya sa panukalang ating inihain, binibigyang-diin natin ang kahalagahan ng pagbibigay-prayoridad sa kalusugan ng isip ng mga mag-aaral (We do not want to have such cases in the future. So in the proposal we submitted, we emphasize the importance of prioritizing the mental health of students),” Lapid said.

Under the bill, the DepEd would be mandated to hire and deploy Mental Health Professionals such that each public elementary, secondary, vocational institution, and offices in the different governance levels of the DepEd shall have mental health professionals or mental health service providers.

Also under the measure, DepEd shall provide for sufficient resources for mental health programs and projects designed to maintain and address the mental health and well-being of learners and personnel.

“Mental health promotion or early intervention in young people is an investment for the future,” Lapid reiterated.

Related Tags

Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act lito lapid mental health Basic Education doh
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