House resolution for nationwide study on students' mental health filed
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has filed a resolution at the House of Representatives calling on the government’s education and health departments to conduct a thorough study on the state of students' mental health.
Filed by Deputy Speaker Camille Villar (Las Pinas), House Resolution No. 900 urges the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Health and the Philippine Statistics Authority to gather nationwide data that would help address the youth’s mental health needs after DepEd reported a number of student suicides during the pandemic.
"There is a need to conduct an in-depth assessment of and comprehensive study by relevant government agencies (on) the present state of mental health of the country’s education sector … in a bid to establish more mental health units in schools, hospitals, or rural health units, among other measures," Villar pointed out.
The resolution also pushes for the House panels on education and health, among others, to determine the "extent of the mental health crisis" in the education sector to establish interventions and widen access to mental health facilities.
DepEd disclosed in a Senate hearing in February that it recorded 404 suicide incidents and 2,147 suicide attempts among students in 2021 — numbers that confirmed the nationwide scale of the spike in suicide cases initially reported by student groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While DepEd said it recognizes the alarming suicide rate among students, the number of guidance counselors in schools remains too few to address all students' mental health needs. There are around 2,000 guidance counselors catering to 28 million public school students.
RELATED: Lack of guidance counselors hampers prevention of student suicides
Meanwhile, a 2021 study by the University of the Philippines' Population Institute estimated that around one in five Filipinos aged 15 to 24 years old — or 1.5 million in total — have considered ending their own life. Most of them or six in 10 did not reach out to anyone about their suicide ideation.
Aside from stigma, however, a recent study by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative Resilient Communities program found that costly treatment and services are the top barriers to accessing mental health care in the Philippines, according to local mental health and psychosocial support providers. – Cristina Chi with reports by Gaea Katreena Cabico
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If you or someone you know needs assistance, contact the National Center for Mental Health Crisis Hotline at +63 917 899 8727 and 7989 8727.
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