A COUNCIL member of the National Youth and Students Sectoral Council (NYSSC) is asking the journalists and members of the media to be “sensitive” in reporting suicide cases.
Council Member Kenneth Lee Piloton of the NYSSC, under the National Anti-Poverty Commission Youth and Students Sector, said last Thursday, January 30 that careless reporting of suicide cases may trigger more suicide attempts among the youth.
“Dapat sensitive ta sa the way nato nga hisgutan ang issues sa mental health (We should be sensitive when it comes to discussing mental health issues),” Piloton said.
He added that the Department of Health should conduct a training for the media in terms of how to report news related to suicide cases.
The NYSSC, he said, is also looking into what can be done to address the issue on mental health, particularly suicide, as its one of the alarming problems among youth together with teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Among the regions with under their observation are Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), and Zamboanga Peninsula.
According to Piloton, among their recommendations is the increase in the allocation for free and accessible medication and services such as counseling for the youth.
“Ang usa sa problema karon is wala’y facility, wala tay mga personahe, maski diha sa barangay level kung asa ato pong gina-encourage nga naa pud unta na sya nga programa labi na ang pinakaduol nga maghatag og serbisyo sa atong gobyerno is kana sa barangay level,” Piloton said.
He said it’s only in Cagayan de Oro City but all over the country, there are no counseling services available for the youth in villages.
And while health centers have their trained personnel on counseling, Piloton said those were already too old for the youth to consider divulging their mental health problems.
“Maglisod pud og duol ang atong mga kaubang batan-on tungod kay mataha sila kay ang gipang train sa atoang Department of Health is kaning mga edaran na nga mga personahe sa health center. S atoang mga kaigsuonang batan-on murag maulaw sila nga mag-approach sa ilaha,” Piloton said.
He added that there are also rural health units with no counseling area.
Piloton also proposed to intensify the information education campaign regarding mental health issues, teenage pregnancy and STDs.
“Hopefully, sa atoang National Sectoral Assemby ug sa National Youth and Students Sectoral Assembly ma-discuss na pud sya sa incoming nga sectoral council nga matagaan sya og pagtagad,” Piloton said.