Changing Faces
Was it Aristotle who said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom?”
A good relationship with the self is one’s fortification to develop high self-esteem, one’s armor to defeat doubts and insecurities.
To a great extent, says San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan Rep. Florida “Rida” Perez Robes, “a person’s good relationship with the self is his or her defense against depression.”
Rida is an advocate for mental health. Many times, so to speak, she has stared depression in the eye — from the personal experiences of her relatives, from the deaths of teenagers in her town. Sure she lives a comfortable life but it does not sit well with her that in her own backyard, depression claims lives.
“In one public high school in a barangay in our town, 10 students, all teenagers, died of suicide due to mental health issues, in a span of one year. Many of the cases are related to online bullying,” says Rida.
Alarmed by the situation, Rida visits different barangays and schools in her town, the biggest in Bulacan, to bring hope among the residents and students. The students are given trainings to make them aware of their healthy responsibilities to themselves.
“Depression needs to be treated. Early intervention can come in the form of caring. It helps a lot when a depressed individual knows someone cares,” says Rida, who could have been a psychologist had she not shifted to Hotel and Restaurant Management in St. Paul College-Manila.
Recently, Rida, with other lawmakers like Pangasinan Rep. Baby Arenas and Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer, signed a partnership with Korean-based Sunfull Foundation, an international non-governmental organization that further raises mental health awareness among young individuals and helps combat cyberbullying.
According to Rida, many studies have shown that the Philippines has one of the highest cases of depression in Southeast Asia. “Reports also say that at least 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depression,” she adds.
Included in the campaign of the Sunfull Foundation is to provide “encouragement and hope to people suffering from malicious comments posted on websites and social media.” The foundation recently appointed Rida as an ambassador of the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement, in recognition of her efforts to address depression among the youth.
“The social media platforms are becoming toxic, hostile to the young ones,” Rida tells Allure. “This setup triggers depression.”
Rida is working hard to put up a mental health wellness center in San Jose del Monte. In fact, House Bill No. 2383 (an act establishing a mental health clinic in the city) has been approved in the committee level in congress.
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In a recent privilege speech titled “Changing Faces” she delivered at the House of Representatives, Rida talked about the “changed faces” of the young Filipinos: “depressive and suicidal.” Citing sources, Rida said the depressive and suicidal Filipinos come from ages 13 to 25.
“In our country, the rise in the number of suicide cases and youth with mental health issues maybe attributed to a convergence of risk factors like social disconnection and weakening of helpful factors like genuine relationships and healthy lifestyles,” she said in her privilege speech.
Rida notes that when relationships between parents and their children are not healthy anymore — say parents who work abroad or parents who leave the house early and come home late because they need to work elsewhere — the home tends to become an empty shell for the young ones.
Stressful loads in school are also a factor to mental health issues of the students, she notes.
Of course, social media is also a culprit, Rida adds.
To help bring back the “smiley” on these “changed faces,” Rida calls upon government institutions, particularly the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, to “formulate and implement an ethical orientation program anchored on the teaching of moral and philosophical values... that are necessary for human survival.”
She also spoke of the need of the Department of Health to step up the implementation of Republic Act 11036 or the Philippine Mental Health Law, particularly the launching of strong and widely promoted anti-suicide helplines.
In her speech, she also sought help to address the difficulty of hiring licensed guidance counselors as Republic Act 9258 or the Guidance Counseling Act of 2004 prescribes steep licensing requirements.
Rida makes sense when she says the first glimmer of hope can be seen when there are guidance counselors in public schools. “They are the professionals who help students understand and deal with social, behavioral and personal problems.”
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Rida admits she was once a victim of bullying. “People bashed me because of my fair complexion. Because of my color, I was misjudged as someone difficult, unkind. I let them be. But those words hurt a lot,” she admits.
She credits her late parents for making a strong-willed woman in her.
“My mom gave me everything — my life, the path I had to take, my faith.” Her mom was a jeweler and real estate broker.
“My father taught me to be grateful, to remember everyone who has helped me. Kahit isang piraso ng candy ang ibinigay sa akin, dapat tandaan ko ang taong ‘yon na nagbigay,” says Rida of her father who influenced her to venture into construction business. Rida also produces concerts and has a catering business.
Her business acumen was developed very early in life when in Grade 5 she repacked and sold peanuts and butong pakwan to her classmates. In high school, she sold boiled corn to her friends. Because there was a family van that brought her to school, she made the vehicle available for a carpool with five of her schoolmates who each paid her P500 a month. In college, she sold quilted bags and pillowcases.
Her advocacy for mental health is her covenant with the youth that she will be there for them. To some extent, this advocacy is her assurance to her two kids ages nine and 15 and her husband Arthur (now mayor of San Jose del Monte) that she will do good in public service.
The season for caring is all the more highlighted now as the merriest time of the year draws near. Rida’s heart knows she won’t forget to care for those who feel alone even if they are in a crowded classroom. She knows that “changing faces” of the depressed youth is a tall order to put upon herself but Rida has started the march and has enjoined others to walk with her. *
(E-mail me at bumbaki@yahoo.com. Have a blessed Sunday!)
