House Deputy Majority Leader Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luigi Villafuerte has filed a bill that would help address the alarming incidents of school-based violence.

Villafuerte filed in the current 20th Congress House Bill (HB) No.163, or the Mental Health and Digital Wellbeing for Youth Act of 2025.

Though the measure, the Bicolano intends to deploy licensed mental health professionals such as psychologists, guidance counselors or psychiatric nurses to every public high school and SUC (State Universities and Colleges) within three years, in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

Villafuerte noted that Malacañang already acknowledged the problem and began to act on it.

He said the presence of a a guidance counselor, psychologist or any other licensed mental health professional at schools would help reverse the disturbingly increasing rates of depression, anxiety, and even self-harm or suicidal ideation among young Filipinos.

“With the psychological well-being of our adolescents and young people emerging as a critical public health issue—apparently aggravated by academic pressures, cyberbullying and other risks spawned by digital technologies—licensed professionals should be assigned to every public school and SUC campus to ensure that our students have available and ready access in school to professional counselling, early intervention and emotional support from these professionals or experts,” Villafuerte said.

HB No.163 also mandates annual mental health screenings, the establishment of safe spaces for emotional processing, and training programs for teachers in trauma-informed and empathy-based approaches.

President Marcos recently ordered the DepEd to investigate with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police (PNP) the alarming incidents of school-based violence, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to assist in evaluating the imlementation fo child protection policies in all schools across the country.

Last Aug. 4, a Grade 11 student who was allegedly upset over failing grades shot dead a teacher in a school in Lanao del Sur. Then, on Aug. 10, a nine-year-old Grade 3 student in Northern Mindanao was rushed to a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) after being reportedly mauled by five high school students.

Last Aug. 7, a 15-year-old female student was shot dead inside a classroom in Nueva Ecija by her former boyfriend, who then shot himself dead after shooting her. The girl fell to a coma and died later from her injury.

A former governor of Camarines Sur, Villafuerte noted that in recent years, the mental health of young Filipinos has “emerged as a critical public health issue, amplified by academic pressures, the psychological aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the pervasive influence of digital technologies".

“Increasing rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation among students have been documented in multiple studies and echoed by educators and healthcare professionals nationwide,” he said.

Villafuerte underscored the urgency for the congressional approval of HB No.163, as many public schools still lack access to trained mental health professionals, and the majority of students have no regular channel for counseling, early intervention, or emotional support.

“Moreover, the regulatory framework to safeguard young Filipinos in the digital environment remains limited, despite growing evidence that certain digital design choices can significantly exacerbate mental health challenges,” he said.