By Uriel Quilinguing, Contributing Editor .
“SUICIDE cases may not be directly related to Covid-19 but we are closely monitoring them.”
This was the response of Dr. Adriano Suba-an, director of Department of Health in Region 10, in yesterday’s bi-weekly Covid-19 inter-agency press conference here, when asked to react on recent incidents of suicide.
“The EOC (emergency operations center) reported 102 suicides all over the region since January until yesterday,” said Suba-an, adding that mental health is one their utmost concerns.
He, however, said that they need baseline data for comparison and that he has instructed his staff on this.
“Health is not mere absence of disease, it involves the physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being of the person,” said DOH 10 official, and that the health and other agencies of government are trying to address these.
Suba-an said they have 24/7 hotlines for those who needs someone to talk to.
While the DOH-10 activity was in progress, a psychologist of the city social welfare and development office discussed the importance of mental health on a city government-sponsored television program.
Jaymee Leonen, who heads the CSWD’s mental health and psycho-social services, affirmed that Covid-19 has direct effect on one’s state of mind, regardless of age, gender, and status in life.
“Sa pagkakaron, gasaka gyud ang atong mga kaso sa mental health condition,” said Leonen and that the state of mind of the person can be manifested through one’s fear, anger, anxiety or depression.
Although unsure of actual number of suicide cases in the city, yet she maintained mental health is of utmost concern at this time—in response to recent two incidents of suicide, involving minors. Another case was that of a sexagenarian school official who hang himself near a chapel in Barangay Gusa.
Leonen appealed to media to help educate their listeners on how suicides can be prevented, instead of mere reporting and often in sensationalized manner.
She also advised parents to give school-age kids daily tasks to keep them mentally and physically active, rather than leaving them alone in their rooms.
Teachers, she said, must include in their online mode of instructions group activities, even if these are virtually to develop inter-personal interactions, social and leadership skills.
Last month, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported of noticeable increases in the incidence of suicides nationwide in January and February this year, compared to the same in the last five years, 2015-2019.
In January this year, PSA counted 53,078 incidents of suicide against a five-year average of 51,996; the figure was 45,730 in February while that from 2015-2019 the average was 45,456.
On a daily basis, there were 1,712 who killed himself, within January this year.
From January to June, this year, there were 259,426 who either hang or poisoned himself to death—two most ways by those who took their lives.
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