Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
There has been a significant increase in the awareness of the mental health situation in 
the country. Among the things we need to address is the  prevention of youth suicide in 
the country. 
In 2016, youth suicide came into public light during a Senate Committee on Youth 
hearing on the National Poison Management and Control Center's report. The said 
report stated that Filipino kids as young as 10 years old have committed suicide because 
of depression—16 percent of the total suicide cases recorded are from the youth, teens 
aged 10 to 19 years old.  In a study on the prevalence of suicide attempts among Filipino 
youth, the author found that roughly 1 in 10 Filipino youth aged 15 to 27 has considered 
suicide an option.1 
This bill intends to require all schools to implement a Peer Counseling Program to 
encourage positive mental health for students. The program includes a peer counseling 
training course that teaches basic counseling skills as well as a Mentor-Mentee program 
to stimulate relationship and confidence building and skill and academic motivation. The 
schools are also encouraged to employ at least one psychologist, as far as practicable, 
in every school guidance counselor's office in order to respond to the mental health care 
needs of the students and create suicide prevention programs. It also intends to 
establish Youth Health Centers to address the stigma of mental health and identify youth 
issues. 
Institutionalizing the Youth Suicide Prevention program means ensuring that the mental 
health needs of our youth are taken care of.  
This entails the collaboration of both the Department of Education and the Department 
of Health to formulate a program that not only promotes awareness but also 
mechanisms to prevent the problems. The bill proposed defers to the wisdom and 
expertise of the two government agencies that care for the wellbeing of its citizens. 
1 http://www.apjmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/APJMR-2017.5.2.2.02.pdf 
September 13, 2022
8:00 am
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The approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE 
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. HORIBATA 
NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 
AN ACT 
TO PROVIDE YOUTH SUICIDE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Youth Suicide Prevention 
Act". 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — Under Section 13, Article Il 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 inculcate in them positive self-
image, self-respect, critical thinking and moral responsibility to enable them to become 
principle-centered and values-driven individuals. 
SECTION 3. Formulation of Life Planning Education. — The Department of 
Education (DepEd), in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), is mandated 
to formulate and include 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 roles; 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 school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors and other school 
personnel responsible for delivering LPE. 
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The DepEd is likewise mandated to formulate a mechanism for sustaining peer 
counseling and peer education programs. 
 
SECTION 4. Implementation of Public Education Campaign. — The DOH, in 
consultation 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 personnel and the 
general public to: 
a. 
Become aware of the increasing problem of youth suicide and suicidal 
behaviors; 
b. 
Recognize common warning signs of suicidal thoughts and intent; 
c. 
Learn how to respond to youth who exhibit such signs; and 
d. 
Know when and where to go for accurate assessments and professional help. 
 
SECTION 5. Implementation of a Peer Counseling Group Program in Every School. 
— The DepEd is mandated to require all schools to implement a Peer Counseling 
Program that includes the following: 
a. Peer Counseling Training Course — credited training program to be conducted 
by the school psychologist or guidance counselor and shall involve lessons on 
basic counseling skills and analyses for students. The school may also tap the 
help of health specialists through the abovementioned Public Education 
Campaign; 
b. Mentor-Mentee Program — the school psychologist or guidance counselor shall 
oversee the conduct of the Mentor-Mentee program and be responsible for the 
matching of students based on mentee developmental focus and mentor 
capabilities. 
 
SECTION 6. Employment of Psychologist for Monthly School Counseling 
Alignment Sessions. — The DepEd, in cooperation with the DOH, is mandated to 
employ at least one (1) psychologist in every school. The psychologist shall be employed 
on a consultancy service position and shall be required to visit the school at least once 
(1) a month to hold School Counseling Alignment Sessions. The school psychologist 
must also prepare a yearly School Counseling Program of Work in order to align the 
guidance counselors with the campaigns and programs included in this Act. 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 behavior; 
b. 
Formulate and implement standardized and reliable screening procedures of 
suicidal intent and tendencies; 
c. 
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; 
e. 
Conduct screening procedures or assessments twice in each school year for 
every grade level starting from Grade 3 until Senior High School; 
f. 
Other duties and responsibilities which DepEd and DOH may identify as 
necessary to fulfill the above mandate. 
 
The 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 suicide. 
 
SECTION 7. Provision of Technical Assistance and Data Management. — The DOH 
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 attempt suicide; and 
c. 
Explore prevention strategies to reduce the number of attempted suicides and 
suicides. 
 
SECTION 8. Establishment of Youth Health Centers. — The DOH may establish a 
linkage 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. 
 
These health facilities and teen 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. 
 
SECTION 9. Implementing 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 suicide, shall issue 
the Implementing Rules and Regulations within 90 days from the effectivity of this Act. 
 
SECTION 10. 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 (Php 
50,000,000.00) shall be allocated for the first year of its implementation. Such sum shall 
be included in the special project allocation of DepEd and DOH. 
 
SECTION 11. Separability Clause. — Should any provision herein be declared 
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this Act. 
 


 
SECTION 12. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations 
or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
 
SECTION 13. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect in fifteen (15) days after 
publication in the Official Gazette or in one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the 
Philippines. 
 
Approved,