ILOILO – Between January and August this year, this province had the most suicide cases in Region 6 at 58, data from the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) showed.
Iloilo had 59 suicide cases in the same period last year.
To address this, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) launched the “Pag-ulikid” Desk initiative in all its 43 police stations.
These desks, manned by personnel from the Women’s and Children Protection Desk (WCPD), among others, had intervention to those in need of moral, psychological or spiritual support.
Meanwhile, Western Visayas logged 212 suicide cases in the first eight months of the year, three cases down from last year’s.
Negros Occidental had 53 cases, Capiz – 30, Aklan – 23, Antique – 21, Iloilo City – 11, and Bacolod City and Guimaras with eight cases each.
In an earlier interview, Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray, medical coordinator for Mental Health Program at the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 6, said suicide maybe caused by depression; personal problems in the family or relationships; and mental health conditions.
Natalaray said a depressed person may experience deep sadness, changes in appetite, increased fatigue, sleep problems, restlessness, or looking at death.
On the part of the DOH, Natalaray said they continue to offer capacity building activities to health facilities like the Rural Health Units to provide mental health and psychosocial support services to the community.
DOH-6 is encouraging the public to avail themselves of these services./PN
