CAGAYAN de Oro’s mental health experts on Friday, May 12, called on the local media to be mindful and sensitive in their coverage of mental health issues as Cagayan de Oro saw a surge in the number of suicides since January.
“Please avoid reporting the methods of suicide,” Dr. Jayme Leonen-Pagaspas, the head psychologist at the Psychosocial Division of the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD), appealed to local news organizations.
Pagaspas cited data from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD) which showed a 162% increase in the number of suicides in the city compared to the same period in 2022.
The CDRRMD data showed at least 47 suicides in the city from January to April.
Pagaspas said the city’s media can help in city hall’s efforts to help people suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies by being careful about the way they report cases of suicide.
Journalist Ryan Rosauro, the Mindanao bureau chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said the media’s role in dealing with the problem of mental health is crucial.
“Our interest here is on addressing the risk of contagion driven by media reporting and mindless social media information sharing and delving into the largely unseen state of mental health of people,” Rosauro said.
Experts have said media can report responsibly by avoiding sensationalizing or glamorizing suicide, exercising caution when sharing methods and specifics, respecting privacy and obtaining consent from families, using non-stigmatizing language, contextualizing, educate the public about warning signs and prevention, among others.
With the alarming rise of suicides in the past few weeks, mostly involving young people, local officials said there was a need for a whole-of-society approach to addressing the problem of mental health.
Pagaspas said the spate of suicides in the city should serve as a wake-up call to the reality of depression as a mental health ailment.
“Depression is one of the most disabling diseases worldwide and it is crucial to acknowledge that it is a social plague which means all members of the society should help prevent suicides and participate in the active campaign to promote mental health,” she said.
Dr. Jose Coruña Jr., a consulting psychiatrist at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), said the high rate of suicides among teenagers occurs mostly in highly urbanized cities where many people feel isolated and even alienated because of the fast pace.
Coruña also pointed out that the stigma attached to mental health issues, and the dearth of mental health professionals in the city contribute to the lack of awareness among many residents.
“We need to educate our people that without mental health, there is no health,” said Coruña.
Pagaspas said they were training their workers on giving “depression first aid” to those with mental health issues and people with trauma.
Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy, meanwhile, has ordered the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) to coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build barriers in public places that have been used by suicides.
CEO department manager Jenito Asequia said they have started making the design and would install the barriers starting with the Maharlika Bridge where at least three suicide cases were reported this month alone.
Uy said he has also asked the Local School Board and the Liga ng mga Barangay to coordinate with the CSWD in promoting mental health.
Uy said city hall would set up “mental health corners” in the city’s 80 barangays, and public school teachers in the city would be trained on early detection and early response to depression among students.
The CSWD is working to make the Mental Helpline operate 24 hours-seven days a week. Leonen-Pagaspas said they are currently training more professionals for the hotline, which can be reached by calling 911 and 0970-039-2709.
Cong Corrales is an Ares Rufo fellow.
