SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution urging the appropriate Senate committee to review and “identify” challenges in the implementation of RA 11036 or the Mental Health Act amid the “alarming” number of suicide incidents in recent years.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 671, Gatchalian noted reports that suicide deaths have increased by 74 percent from 2019 to 2020, making it the 28th leading cause of death in the country, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“Considering a looming mental health pandemic, it is crucial for the government to urgently intervene by improving and investing in mental health services across healthcare protection, education, and welfare,” Gatchalian said.
PSA statistics showed there were 4,892 reported deaths due to intentional self-harm in the year 2020, which surpassed the 2,808 deaths in 2019.
Data also showed that from the pre-pandemic annual average of 2,752 recorded from 2017 to 2019, the annual average deaths by suicide soared to 4,085 from 2020 to 2022.
Gatchalian said that while the preliminary estimated number of suicides for 2022 stood at 2,865, the average number of deaths by suicide “significantly rose during the pandemic.”
The senator lamented that even young learners were not spared from the impact of the pandemic, citing information from the Department of Education (DOE) indicating that 412 students committed suicide during the academic year 2021-2022.
Gatchalian said that despite the initiation of national and local mental health programs during the pandemic, a February 2021 policy brief from the De La Salle University showed sporadic and a lack of comprehensive collaborative approach.
He also noted that during a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Health and Demography last May 9, the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) reported receiving 3,125 calls in 2019, of which around 700 were related to suicides.
In 2020, calls made to the NCMH increased to more than 11,000, of which some 2,800 were suicide-related.
The agency also received an estimated 14,000 distressed calls in 2021, with more than 5,000 suicide-related calls, which was almost seven times higher than the figure in 2019.
Gatchalian said the high cost of mental health services has made treatment in facilities a major obstacle for individuals suffering from mental issues.
“Recent studies have noted that despite the initiation of various national and local mental health response programs during the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, these efforts were ‘sporadic, lacked a strategic collaborative approach among stakeholders’ and ‘failed to provide adequate social services and interventions,” Gatchalian said.
“Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic is a wakeup call for public mental stakeholders and has underscored the urgent need to prioritize public mental health services in the country. Consequently, a comprehensive assessment of the current implementation of the National Mental Health Act is imperative,” he added.
He said the inquiry seeks to identify the challenges in the delivery of mental health services, evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies, and recommend policies and legislative interventions to “address the pandemic of mental health in the country.”
