‘… social media has been used as conduits for abuse, cyber-bullying and broadcast of content promoting self-harm.’

ATTENTION Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and DICT Secretary Ivan Uy, don’t turn your eyes blind in the increasing number of students aged 10 to 24 committing self-harm every school year, partly attributed to the unregulated access of social media and online gaming apps.

This developed as National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) chief Dr. Noel Reyes agreed that there is an urgency to address the addictiveness of children and the youth on digital platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, Dota and Clash of Clans, among others.

Nearly 1.5 million young Filipinos tried to commit self-harm, with 404 students taking their own life as per data from the UP Population Institute.

In an interview, Dr. Reyes said that children hooked into mobile gadgets and digital platforms are negatively impacting young Filipinos’ mental health by causing anxiety, depression, social isolation and sleep disturbances.

Indeed, spending many hours with mobile gadgets leads to reduced face-to-face social interactions, which are important for the development of social skills and emotional intelligence, particularly for children and youth, according to Dr. Reyes.

Likewise, Dr. Reyes noted that social media contributes to the fear of children and youth missing out on social events and experiences, leading to feelings of inadequacy and anxiety.

Dr. Reyes said among the “red flags” of suicide include but are not limited to the following: feeling or expressing boredom; social media posts of isolation and depression; excessive preoccupation with social media; withdrawal from family and friends; problems focusing on tasks; irritability; lack of response to praise; changes in eating and sleeping habits; and alcohol or drug use, among others.

Although the NCMH has a Mental Health Crisis Hotline, 09663514518, open 24 hours and seven days a week, Dr. Reyes said “it’s not enough.”

“It is indeed a duty of the State to provide a safe space for children and youth,” Dr. Reyes said, adding: “The best approach is still early recognition of mental health risk factors, immediately providing counseling aimed at improving mental health, and therefore building stronger connections with their family members.”

It is for this reason that Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Lito Lapid, both advocating the success and well-being of students, have proposed that every school should have at least one licensed guidance counselor.

While a ratio of one licensed guidance counselor per 500 students is far from what Gatchalian and Lapid intend to achieve, it’s a good step forward to address the mental health issues and disorders facing many children and youth today.

Per the Department of Education (DepEd), there are more than 19 million students enrolled for the school year 2023 to 2024.

Senator Gatchalian said: “It is heartbreaking to know that in a single school year, over 400 learners ended their lives. Each one of them had his or her aspirations and the potential to succeed in life.”

“We do not want more of these cases in the future. These underscored the importance of prioritizing students’ mental health,” Senator Lapid said.

Dr. Reyes said the Philippines needs to have a law specifically regulating excessive access by children and youth to social media, online gaming apps and other digital platforms using their smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

Dr. Reyes expressed his concern that social media has been used as conduits for abuse, cyber-bullying and broadcast of content promoting self-harm.

Social media platforms can certainly be sources of learning, advice, and support for children and youth.

Dr. Reyes and other mental health experts are willing to join the Technical Working Group after learning that Tingog Partylist Reps. Yedda Romualdez and Jude Acidre vowed to re-file a better version of the Online Safety Act for children incorporating suggestions of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara.

UNICEF and DepEd agreed there is a need to implement safeguards such as parental controls and blocking of inappropriate content, promote cyber wellness and digital citizenship through the curriculum, embed Media and Information Literacy (MIL) subjects in senior high school, and partner with the private sector–parents, educators, and health workers–for cyber safety campaigns.

We can only hope that Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cesar Chavez will wake up Secretary Herbosa and Secretary Uy from their stupor.

‘… methinks a back door diplomatic channel between the Philippines and China is still the best option to ensure world peace…’

IN view of the anticipated depletion of the Malampaya gas field natural gas deposits in three to five years, the government is dead set on developing new energy sources to prevent an economic slump because there isn’t enough electricity to energize industries.

The last time I had a chit-chat with Energy Undersecretary Alessandro Sales, the renowned geologist hinted at the urgency to come up with a plan to keep the country energized — one of which is to strike a balance between renewable energy and natural gas because grids are not designed for fluctuation.

Sales, who is supervising DOE’s Energy Resource and Management Bureau, particularly cited Prime Energy’s preparations for another natural gas exploration under Phase 4 of the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project pegged at a whopping $805 million, including the drilling and development cost to bring to production.

According to Sales, at the present time, natural gas is the only reliable and cost-effective source of energy to modulate the variability of renewable energy sources.

In 2023, President Marcos Jr. signed the renewal agreement for the Malampaya Service Contract No. 38, extending the production for another 15 years, unlocking the potential both in the existing gas field, which is about 80 kilometers off the northwest coast of the island of Palawan, and prospect areas that are close to Malampaya.

At first glance, the project contract seemed just “another exploration but looking into geological studies, what we’re looking at is 210 billion cubic feet (CF) of gas reserves that can still be developed.

As a matter of contingency, the consortium has also committed to drill a third well.

However, there is more that the South China Sea can offer – 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves and 11 billion barrels of oil reserves based on the data provided by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

The DOE though would rather focus on the abundance source well within the 200-nautical mile Philippine exclusive economic zone where an estimated 12,158 billion cubic feet of potential natural gas resources and 6,203 million barrels of potential oil resources may be found. Interestingly, not even one energy company would dare take the risk that Prime Energy of Filipino billionaire Enrique K. Razon has taken amid China’s aggression despite laws recognizing the area where only the Philippines has the right to exclusivity to its natural resources.

Three years ago, a Senate resolution seeking to establish the oil and gas potential in the WPS was filed to address the lack of oil and gas exploration and moderate the country’s import dependence and lack of self-sufficiency.

According to the proponent, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the government should not be complacent even as he cited the urgency to ascertain the oil and gas potential in the West Philippine Sea that would somehow give the Philippines some level of stability and protection from the tumultuous geopolitical conflict in foreign countries that has severely impacted local energy prices.”

By Usec. Sales’ own admission, such an idea should be considered – but with extreme caution as China has been consistent in its bid to prevent the Philippines from exploiting its own oil and gas reserves inside its EEZ via intimidation in its bid to boost its claim over the South China Sea, including the 200-nautical mile Philippine EEZ.

For one, China has been effectively preventing the Philippines from using its own resources by making the disputed maritime region a risky place for energy companies to explore, notwithstanding a 2016 decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that bestowed the Philippines’ exclusive right over its resources inside its EEZ.

To date, China has been controlling maritime features inside Philippine territorial waters, which include the Julian Felipe Reef, Escoda Shoal, Rozul Reef, Recto Bank and Iroquois Reef via gray zone tactics, embarking on the positioning of floating outposts masquerading as fishing vessels.

These are the areas where there may be an abundant supply of natural gas based on previous geological studies.

When asked how the government is dealing with China’s aggression, Usec. Sales gave a premium on “safety first.”

In my humble opinion as an ordinary Juan Dela Cruz, methinks a back door diplomatic channel between the Philippines and China is still the best option to ensure world peace, although intimidation by Chinese and posturing of forces of the Philippines and its allies show position of strength but it increases the tension, which at the end of the day, places a major route of global commerce with 60% of maritime trade passes through the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea within the Philippine EEZ under clear and present danger. Just one foolish mistake either by our country or China could trigger a catastrophic World War 3.

If you need to reach this Columnist, please feel free to send an email at burgosforum82@gmail.com.

‘Malampaya has contributed over $13.5 billion in revenues to the Philippine government while powering up to 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirement… ‘

A LITTLE less than three decades ago, the government adopted what was then referred to as daylight saving time (DST) in view of an energy crisis that adversely affected the national economy — and effectively altered the people’s daily routine.

The government implemented DST — the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available so that darkness falls at a later time — as the energy supply was reduced to a level way below the normal operating norm.

It was also during that time that power outages posted record-high duration — eight hours daily on a rotational basis. It was then that the government realized the need to find means to address the problem, for which the idea of tapping the country’s abundant deposit was conceived — hence the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project.

However, even after the government adopted the Malampaya project as its solution to the growing demand for electricity, it took a little less than 10 years for the actual project to kick off. Malampaya project began its commercial operations in January 2002 and has contributed over $13.5 billion in revenues to the Philippine government while powering up to 20 percent of Luzon’s electricity requirement using indigenous natural gas.

Moving forward, the experts hinted at a nearing depletion of Malampaya project’s natural gas by 2027 and perhaps the return of the DST.

With this question in mind, I asked the proper authorities to provide an answer to the mounting public concern — the Department of Energy whose mandate under Republic Act 7638 (which created the DOE) is to prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise and control all plans, programs, projects and activities of the government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution and conservation.

Through the kind assistance of DOE Undersecretary Wimpy Fuentebella, I was able to talk to his colleague, renowned geologist Alessandro Sales. In his capacity as undersecretary supervising the Energy Resource and Management Bureau speaking for and on behalf of the energy department, Sales categorically warded off the resurgence of DST even as he claimed that the government has been tediously working to ensure that the Malampaya project would continue to provide what is required to prevent an economic slump just because of an energy crisis.

If that’s the case, well and good to the team of DOE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla. However, not every Juan dela Cruz may be able to comprehend the highly technical explanation that Usec Sales presented. As much as I can, I will try to capsulize Usec Sales’ explanation so that non-technical guys would understand. Here’s what Usec Sales told me.

More than providing what is required for power plants to run in the last 20 years or so, the Malampaya project has become one of the largest and most significant industrial endeavors in Philippine history.

A joint undertaking of the Philippine national government and the private sector, the project is spearheaded by the DOE and developed and operated by private partners equipped with the financial capability, technical know-how and expertise to keep the project running safely and efficiently.

Since it began operations in 2001, the Malampaya project has produced cleaner-burning natural gas which supplies four power plants in Luzon, the country’s largest island, with a combined capacity of 3,200 megawatts.

In countless ways, Malampaya effectively reduced oil imports, ensured a more stable supply of cleaner energy from an indigenous resource and met up to 20 percent of the country’s energy requirements.

In 2013, Malampaya Phases 2 and 3 commenced to maintain the level of gas production to fulfill a commitment to ensuring a steady supply of natural gas to power the Luzon electricity grid.

In 2015, Malampaya Phase 3, which involved the design, fabrication and installation of a new Depletion Compression Platform — the first of its kind in the Philippines, was completed.

Interestingly, all these and more would not have materialized without the private partners in the energy sector. It was and has always been the energy industry partners who have been bankrolling this venture.

These energy industry partners are into business and as such are expected to make profits with the possibility of losing big time which on a closer look would still be way cheaper for us Filipinos as compared to the cost of relying on imported gas and taxpayers’ money being used for exploration and building Malampaya’s Phase 2 and 3. In other words, it has high risks and high rewards for DOE’s energy industry partners and zero risks for tax-paying Juan Dela Cruz. 

There’s just one glitch that the public should realize. The natural gas from Malampaya has a minimal impact on the bill shocks from Meralco. Residents of Metro Manila feel electrocuted every day due to the high cost of electricity every billing cycle per month.

‘From all indications, the government’s bid to address social media addiction among Filipino youth is about to fail – unless the DOH and the DICT do their fair share.’

FOR the longest time, the government has been at the receiving end of criticisms from where improvement plans are drawn – and executed.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case in two cabinet agencies which appeared to have adopted a policy of keeping their lips sealed and letting time alone bury the hatchet. In some cases, government officials would rather tap PR consultants to “kill” legitimate issues hurled against them.

For several weeks, we have been discussing social media addiction among Filipino youth. In fairness, there were agencies that responded to our queries in view of alarming data which seemed to prove that the mental health issue deserves attention from the government.

The Department of Education (DepEd) admitted that addressing social media addiction among students is a matter of urgency. They’ve in fact provided their own data confirming the magnitude of the problem – and presented plans and programs to deal with the issue.

We were also able to solicit inputs from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), stumbled upon studies of international and local mental health organizations and interviewed several mental healthcare professionals.

Legislators also did what is well within their ambit – file a legislative bill regulating use of modern-day gadgets and social media access among students. The legislative proposal, however, didn’t merit the concurrence of the collegial body.

Just very recently, my request for an audience from the congressional group behind the legislative proposal seeking to regulate the excessive use of mobile gadgets and access on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, ChatGPT and other digital platforms among students was warmly accorded by Tingog partylist Rep. Jude Acidre, who spoke on the urgent need to address the mental health menace among youngsters.

Acidre said that he and fellow Tingog partylist nominee, Rep. Yedda Romualdez, a former beauty queen and, of course, the loving wife of Speaker Martin Romualdez, intend to re-file a better version of the Online Safety Act with an assurance to incorporate suggestions of UNICEF, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and yours truly.

According to Acidre, Tingog Partylist shall re-file the Magna Carta of Children as well. The interview with Acidre was made possible through the kindness of his chief of staff, Atty. Cesar Ong.

After hearing his piece, I have this inkling that Acidre is not infected by the “teka lang” syndrome of two cabinet honchos, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa and DICT Secretary Ivan Uy. It’s perhaps safe to assume that Acidre is well-versed on the issue and from how I see it, he’s more of a techie which to my belief is way better than teka!

Conspicuously missing are inputs from the Department of Health and the Department of Information and Communication Technology – two agencies that should have been at the battlefront in the government war against the socmed-induced mental health menace among Filipino youth.

For one, Executive Order No. 292 series of 1987 (Instituting the Administrative Code of 1987) specifically provides that the DOH “shall be primarily responsible for the formulation, planning, implementation, and coordination of policies and programs in the field of health.”

Notably, the DICT is the government’s primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity mandated to plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development agenda.

From all indications, the government’s bid to address social media addiction among Filipino youth is about to fail – unless the DOH and the DICT do their fair share.

‘Regulating excessive use of mobile phones and social media platforms is important. Both DepEd and UNICEF agreed there’s an urgent need to address the problem.’

THE fact that kids nowadays are spending a concerning amount of time on social media, video games, and other activities on screens is more than enough reason that what we are dealing with at the onset of modern-day technology is an addiction.

We’ve talked to experts and their observations seemed synonymous with what we’ve been tackling in the last two weeks.

It’s quite disappointing though that after reaching out to various offices deemed capable of dealing with the wrath of social media addiction, only the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWD) are apparently concerned with the problem.

I hope it’s not because DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara and DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian are much younger and more techie than DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and DICT Secretary Ivan Uy, who are in their senior years.    

The adverse effects of this new form of addiction require a concerted effort if only to address the problem even before it blows beyond manageable proportions.

For one, the inclusion of parents of kids hooked on smartphones and social media is a must. Both Secretary Angara and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) agreed on this. It makes sense because the parents themselves are liable to some extent since they are the ones who bought smartphones for their kids. Don’t get me wrong. I am not blaming anyone as such is not an option in solving the problem.

In response to my question, UNICEF Philippines’ Chief of Child Protection Patricia Lim Ah Ken issued a statement that reads:

“Protecting children and adolescents from digital harms requires all sectors–families, schools, governments, and the private sector–to work together to create a safe and empowering digital environment. Strengthening child protection systems and promoting digital responsibility through inclusive policies, education, and safeguards ensure that children can safely navigate online spaces while accessing opportunities for growth and development.

“While regulating excessive use of mobile phones and social media platforms is important, especially for children in their developmental years, we must ensure that any such measures uphold their best interests, aligning with their rights to protection and participation.

“Rather than imposing one-size-fits-all restrictions, it is crucial to adopt positive-oriented limits that are age-appropriate and mutually agreed upon with children, empowering them to practice digital responsibility. Safeguards, such as parental controls and blocking inappropriate content, should be coupled with promoting digital literacy to enable children to safely navigate online spaces while still accessing valuable opportunities for learning and connection.

“By involving parents, schools, children, and digital platforms, we can foster a balanced and safe digital environment without stifling their growth and development.”

So where do we start? Perhaps, we can draw some inspiration from the practices of the United Kingdom, France and the European Union which tapped parents instead of technocrats who have already done their part in tedious studies on the addictive pattern and ill-effects of unregulated use of smartphones and internet access.

Oh yes, parents should know by now that their kids are spending more time online than they feel they probably should, and they have a hard time stopping, for which DepEd expressed interest in discussions around the regulation of smartphone use among children and teenagers.

In a separate interview, Secretary Angara recommended a balanced approach rather than imposing strict bans. Instead of outright restrictions, Secretary Angara advocated for policies that promote parental guidance and monitoring of smartphone usage.

Taking a cue from what the UK and France did, Angara is also considering the involvement of parents whom he claimed would be playing crucial roles in what he aptly referred to as a preventive approach.

Secretary Angara said DepEd should explore options such as:

1. Parental Control Requirements: Similar to the UK, we could require that smartphones sold to individuals under 16 come with default parental controls, empowering parents to monitor and manage their children’s access to content.

2. Promotion of Alternatives: Encouraging the availability of non-internet-enabled “children’s phones” as an alternative for younger users could help minimize distractions while allowing for essential communication.

3. Educational Use Restrictions: Following France’s lead, we could establish guidelines that limit smartphone use in educational settings to strictly pedagogical purposes, ensuring that technology serves as a tool for learning rather than a distraction.

“By implementing these measures, we can foster a healthier relationship between children and technology while ensuring that parents are equipped to guide their children’s usage effectively. This way, we’re not restricting access but rather promoting responsible use and safety in the digital age,” Secretary Angara said.

There’s just one glitch — the Philippines doesn’t have a law yet to ensure online safety for children and if the proposed Magna Carta of Children is toothless or has fangs to ensure digital platforms (such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Google, Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, Timu, ChatGPT, Grab and the likes), mobile gadget manufacturers (such as Apple, Samsung, OPPO, Huawei, ZTE, Realme, Lenovo and OnePlus among others) as well as telcos and internet service providers (such as PLDT, Smart, Globe, DITO and Converge ICT etc.) shall cooperate and become partners of the government in preventing illegal and harmful activities online.

I reached out to Rep. Yedda Romuladez and her co-authors, particularly Reps. Sandro Marcos, Jude Acidre and Angelica Natasha Co to clarify certain provisions of their proposed Magna Carta of Children which seemed to have incorporated an earlier proposal that strengthened internet and digital content safety and protection for children.

Praying that the members of Congress I am trying to reach out to have not been infected by the “teka lang” syndrome of DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and DICT Secretary Ivan Uy!