“Statistics would show that there is an alarming number of young Filipinos who have taken their own lives because of the feeling of hopelessness and meaningless existence,” Perez-Robes said in her privilege speech last Aug. 27.
Ayon kay Perez-Robes, karaniwang nagtutulak sa mga kabataan na magpatiwakal ang depression, kawalan ng pag-asa, kakulangan ng atensyon at suporta gayundin ang kawalan ng moral values at iba pa.
Sinabi pa ng mambabatas na pabata nang pabata ang mga nasasangkot sa depression-related suicides sa Pilipinas kung saan karamihan ay nasa edad trese hanggang bente singko anyos.
“The Philippines has the highest number of depressed people in Southeast Asia and a high number of these cases are observed among our young people, including career-bound young professionals,”
Sinabi pa ni Perez-Robes na batay sa 2017 World Health Organization report, ang suicide rate sa Pilipinas ay anim sa mga kalalakihan at dalawa sa mga kababaihan at ang mga sangkot ay nasa edad kinse hanggang bente nuwebe anyos.
“And, at the base of many of these clinical cases of suicide and mental illness is the ugly face of depression. I am alarmed, as I opt to speak about the first ‘changed face’ of our young Filipinos: depressive and suicidal,”
Itinuturing naman ng Department of Health (DOJ) ang depression na “serious health condition” kung saan 3.3 million Filipinos na ang apektado nito.
Idinagdag pa ng kongresista na mahalaga rin na pangunahan ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED) at Department of Education (DepEd) ang paglulunsad ng “ethical orientation program” para maturuan ang mga kabataan ng moral at philosophical values para sa human survival.
Mahalaga rin aniya ang pagpapaigting ng DOH sa pagpapatupad ng Republic Act 11036 o ang Philippine Mental Health Law, kasama na ang pag-promote ng anti-suicide helplines.
“May I also challenge the Department of Information and Technology to exercise administrative actions on abusive posts in social media,” ayon kay Robes.