Cagayan de Oro’s mental health condition is one of our serious problems, especially for our young people. It is incumbent upon us to come up with relevant local legislation to combat mental disorders in our city.
This was pointed out by Councilor Jocelyn Rodriguez in her special report during the regular session this week, presided over by Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy.
The councilor presented data from the Philippine Mental Health Association, which shows that there were 24 cases of suicide in the city from January to September this year.
“From the data, it shows that one out of four suicides in our city are from the young people below 18 years old, 33-percent within the age range of 20 to 29 years of age, and 21-percent from the age of 30 to 39. Further, 92-percent of those committing suicide are male, and 88-percent are single,” she reported.
Alarmed over these figures, the councilor cited the need for the members of the city council to work on the improvement of the mental health of the city’s constituents.
Rodriguez said the work to improve the mental health of the city’s constituents includes the promotion of mental well-being, the protection of human rights, and the care of people affected by mental disorders like schizophrenia, depression, intellectual disabilities and disorders due to drug abuse.
“We must craft that vision that at least by the year 2021 under this administration, Cagayan de Oro will have publicly maintained mental health facilities to cater to the needs of our constituents suffering from this disorder,” Rodriguez said. (sp)
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