Republic of the Phi
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo,_2075

Introduced by Honorable Ma. Georgina P. De Venecia

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Youth suicide has affected many of our youth and their families. The stigma of
suicide prevents families, schools and communities from fully addressing and facing
the problems which lead our youth to take their own lives. Many suicide-related
deaths are often termed as “accidental deaths”. The silence and quiet indignity with
which our society reacts to these deaths does not help in the prevention of youth
suicide, which more often than not, could have been stopped by early interventi

In the U.S., suicide is the leading cause of death among the youth aged 15-24
years old and is considered as a major public health problem. The reasons they give
for attempting suicide are varied, namely: fecling overwhelmed, lonely, inadequate
and depres ing alcohol and drugs to deal with their emotions; and experiencing
serious family fights. The picture is one of youth in pain. It often fails, however, to
capture the extent to which the agony reverberates through their families, friends,
school and the larger community.

According to a report of the World Health Organization in 2004, statistics will
show that out of 848 deaths due to suicide, 344 or 40% of said suicides occurred in
youth ages 15-24 years old. The suicide rate in that age group is the highest at 2.7%.
Many parents have had to endure the sudden loss of their children due to suicide.

With these alarming incidences of youth suicide, there is an urgent need to
establish @ youth suicide prevention program, particularly in schools, in order to begin
carly, timely and effective intervention plans to abet suicidal tendencies in young
adults. The youth are overwhelmed by their present realities and need help. They need
to have access to services, facilities, and programs that can help them cope with their
problems.

The guidance counselor offices presently established in our schools need to be
tapped and trained in order to identify children who are at risk of committing suicide,
Regular assessments and psychological testing within the school year must be done in
order to detect factors contributing to high risk tendency for suicide. Suicide
prevention takes different forms — from raising strong and capable youth who are well
connected to their families, friends and communities, to training professionals to
recognize early warning signs and providing physical and mental health treatments.



Section 2 of Republic Act No. 8044, or the Youth in Nation-Building Act
enshrine the promotion and protection of the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual
and social well-being of youth to the end that youth realize their potential for
improving the quality of life. In this light, the moral convictions of our youth must be
strengthened and infuse in them faith in our Creator and belief in the sanctity of life
and dignity of the human person.

The desire and hope to live must be communicated to our youth. We are all
stakeholders in assisting and helping them in valuing the gift of life. Suicide is not
simply a personal tragedy; it is also a community tragedy. Our society must combat
youth suicide by reducing risks involved and by enhancing resiliency among our

youth.
HON. i esas VENECIA

Fourth District, Pangasinan



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2075

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Honorable Ma. Georgina P. De Venecia

AN ACT
TO PROVIDE YOUTH SUICIDE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the “Youth Suicide

Prevention Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy, ~ Under Section 13, Article II of the 1987
Constitution, the State shall promote and protect the physical, moral, spiritual,
intellectual, and social well-being of the youth, In view of this policy, the State shall
promote youth programs that will shape their values and inculeate in them positive
self-image, self respect, critical thinking and moral responsibility to enable them to
become principle-centered and values-driven individuals.

SEC. 3. Formulation of Life Planning Education. ~ The Department of Education
(DepED) is mandated to formulate and inelude in the elementary and secondary
education curriculum a course on Life Planning. Life Planning Education (LPE) shall
require lectures and discussions on self and identity; personal, family, community
values; communication and interrelationship with others; sexuality and gender rol
community participation: health: psychological thinking and employment, among
others. The DEPED is mandated to ensure that Life Planning Education is integrated
in all schools. Training shall be provided to schoo! administrators, teachers, guidance
counsellors and other school personnel responsible for delivering LPE.

The DepED is likewise mandated to formulate a mechanism for sust

peer counselling and peer education programs

ing

SEC. 4. Employment of Psychologist in Every School Guidance Counsellor’s Office.
~The DepED is mandated to require all schools to employ at least one (1)
psychologist in every guidance counsellor’s office. Said psychologist must be
licensed to practice the profession in accordance with existing laws and rules and
regulations. The duties and responsibilities of the school psychologist are, but not
limited to, the following:



a. Gain up-to-date scientific knowledge about effective screening and crisis
intervention strategies to identify symptoms of suicidal behaviour;

b, Formulate and implement standardized and reliable screening procedures of
suicidal intent and tendencies;

¢. Provide consultation and assist students in seeking help from their parents,
other adults in their social networks, and health care system personnel;

d, Increase competencies in post suicide intervention to prevent further suicides;

Conduct screening procedures or assessments twice in each school year for
every grade level starting from Grade 3 until fourth year high school;

£ Other duties and responsibilities which DEPED may identify as necessary to
fulfil the above mandate,

‘The Department of Health (DOH) is hereby mandated to provide technical
assistance to schools with respect to training psychologists in schools. It shall
implement the best practices in the identification and treatment of youth who are at
risk for committing suicid

SEC. 5. Implementation of Public Education Campaign. ~The DOH, in coordination
with the DepED, is mandated to tap doctors, health specialists, medical experts,
hospitals and other medical institutions to conduct a nationwide education campaign
to help the youth, parents of youth, teachers, school personne! and the general public
to;

a, Become aware of the incre: idal
behaviours;

b. Recognize common warning signs of suicidal thoughts and intent;

c. Learn how to respond (0 youth who exhibit sueh signs; and

d, Know when and where to go for accurate assessments and professional help.

ng problem of y

SEC. 6. Provision of Technical Assistance and Data Management, — The DOU is
mandated to assist the DepED in:

a. Identifying and promoting strategies to prevent suicide among the youth;

b. Ensuring the quality of screening and crisis intervention strategies and
procedures;

c. Studying the effectiveness of practices relating to the identification and
treatment of youth who are at risk for committing suicide on the overall
wellness and health promotion strategies related to suicide attempts.

The DOH shall conduct research and development programs on the
effectiveness of new and existing youth suicide prevention strategies, techniques,
technology, including clinical studies and evaluations of such strategies and related
research aimed at reducing youth suicide and providing support for emotional and
behavioral disorders which may lead to suicide attempts.



The DOH is likewise mandated to develop a suicide data collection system to
provide reliable data about attempted suicides in the country. In developing the
system, the DOH shall:

a, Include information on the incidence of suicide attempts;
b, Include demographic information on the persons who attempted suicide:

and
c. Explore prevention strategies to reduce the number of attempted suicides
and suicidk

SEC. 7. Establishment of Youth Health Centers.
with national government agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs) and non-
governmental institutions to establish a network of health facilities and teen centers
catering especially to young people in order to address their identified youth issues.

The DOH may establish a linkage

These health facilities and tecn centers shall provide family services, peer counseling
and other related services and may collaborate with parents, schools, religious groups
and youth-serving organizations to successfully implement youth suicide prevention
strategies

SEC. 8. Jnplementing Rules and Regulations, — The DepED and DOH, in
consultation with the National Center for Mental Health, National Youth
Commission, local and national organizations that serve youth who are at risk for
ide, shall issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations within 90 days from the
effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. ~ The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its
enactment into law and thereafter. An initial amount of Fifty Million Pesos
(P50,000,000.00)) shall be allocated for the first year of its implementation, Such sum
shall be included in the special project allocation of DepED and DOH:

10. Repealing Clause. ~ Any law, presidential decree, issuance, executive order,
letter of instruction, administrative order, rules and regulations contrary to or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected hereby shall remain valid and
subsisting.

SEC. 12. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least (wo (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,