MANILA (UCAN): “Mental health has become our priority because of the rising cases of suicide in recent months. Our office has called for the establishment of more community-based mental health services in the country,” Camillian Father Dan Cancino of the Episcopal Commission on Healthcare said in an interview Radyo Veritas, as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines intensified its fight for mental health services to curb the rising rate of suicide in the country.
It announced on June 14 that parishes would build mental health centres in local communities to provide mental and spiritual accompaniment to those who need them.
The project came as a response to a report by the Philippine Statistics Authority stating suicides rose by almost 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2022.
Father Cancino said the commission has renewed its call as part of its mission to take care of its flock.
“Our pastors are very much in touch with our people’s reality and concern today. Mental health is indeed a reality we need to address, he added.
Mental health experts blamed the government’s failed pandemic response, which badly impacted the country’s economy.
The latest figures showed that suicide remained the 27th most common cause of death in the country in 2020, especially among those aged between 30 and 40.
An average of 4,383 cases of intentional harm were recorded in 2021, an increase of 854 from 2020, according to government figures.
It takes the whole community—the Church, schools, not just the family—to address mental health. It takes a village to raise a child. Thus, all institutions should prioritise mental health by giving guidance counselling sessions to those who need it,
The bishops called for parents to reach out to their children and parish priests, especially in cases when their children experience depression.
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Father Cancino said some dioceses in the Philippines have built their own mental health centres with volunteers for guidance counselling.
“This is a priority project and programme where we would want to have more community-based mental health programmes,” he added.
Father Cancino likewise urged dioceses and Catholic schools to include mental health in their programmes.
“It takes the whole community—the Church, schools, not just the family—to address mental health. It takes a village to raise a child. Thus, all institutions should prioritise mental health by giving guidance counselling sessions to those who need it,” the priest said.
In 2020, government authorities appealed to the Philippine’s spiritual leaders to provide counselling and guidance to address growing tension and anxiety.
However, the Association of Philippine Psychologists and Psychiatrists said that the government’s call mirrored the country’s lack of capability to ensure stable mental health care for its citizens.
The association said that calling for aid from religious institutions was recognition by the government that it lacked the resources to address mental health issues.
“Our bishops’ advocacy is really admirable, but at the same time it pains us to realise that we need extra mental health centres in local parishes because our government has not prioritised this issue at all,” psychologist, Efren Vargas, remarked.
