RECENT DATA from the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that of the 28 million student population, 404 ended their lives and 2,147 learners attempted to end their lives in 2021.
We bet most suicide cases go largely unreported due to the stigma or fear of people with suicidal tendencies being judged.
DepEd data also showed that roughly 775,962 learners sought counseling from school guidance counselors – approximately only 2.85 percent of the student t population. Of the 60,157 schools, there were only 16,557 guidance officers and 2,093 registered guidance counselors.
Additionally, in the 2015 national baseline study on violence against children conducted by UNICEF and the council for the welfare of children, 80% of Filipino children and youth aged 13 to 24 suffered abuse and violence in their homes, schools, and communities. Three of five children experienced physical violence or what they refer to as corporal punishment. Three in five children experienced psychological violence in the form of verbal abuse, public intimidation, and embarrassment, among others. One in five children experienced sexual abuse unfortunately committed by their trusted family members.
Also, per data from the child adolescent outpatient unit of the National Center for Mental Health, from January 2022 to September 2022, about 1,615 children asked for a consultation; 559 in 2021; and 444 in 2020.
Suicides among the Filipino youth is real. We are disappointed by the poor and/or lack of implementation of the National Mental Health Act and other laws. Had these been implemented, many of the suicides could have been prevented.
Yes, we need more trained counselors. And yes, parents must be trained, too. We need more inter-agency coordination and monitoring and follow-up on all the cases of suicides, bullying, and violence involving students and teachers.
There must be synergy among all the implementing agencies, one hotline that we can remember instead of the many hotlines per agency and one concrete program that we can all follow that includes all barangays.
There is a shortage of school guidance counselors. We need guidance counselors in the schools, not at the division offices and regional offices. One remedy: why not include mental health training for barangay health workers. This would be one quick way to swiftly add more people who can be first responders in communities and schools.
The poor and/or lack of implementation of the National Mental Health Act and other related laws is very unfortunate. On Jan. 23, 2023 a senior high school student died after falling from the ninth floor of a building inside the university of the east Caloocan city campus. A witness recovered a handwritten suicide note. On Feb. 9, 2023 a 17-year-old student died after he fell from a school building at San Beda College Alabang, Muntinlupa.
Suicides among the youth are becoming alarming. One life lost is one too many.
