Department of Health

Receiving Officer 08:43 AM, Oct 13, 2023

October 13, 2023

Dear Kelly Mae,

Thank you for your request dated Oct 12, 2023 under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch, for Student's suicide rate in the Philippines.

We received your request on Oct 12, 2023 and will respond on or before Nov 02, 2023 07:38:16 PM, in accordance with the Executive Order's implementing rules and regulations.

Should you have any questions regarding your request, kindly contact me using the reply function on the eFOI portal at https://www.foi.gov.ph/requests/aglzfmVmb2ktcGhyHQsSB0NvbnRlbnQiEERPSC0wNDE0NTcwMzUwNjkM, for request with ticket number #DOH-041457035069.

Thank you.

Respectfully,

FOI Receiving Officer
FOI Officer

Maker 01:18 PM, Oct 13, 2023

Good day!

Please be informed that we have endorsed your request to Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DPCB) for action. Kindly await for their response.

Thank you!

Maker 03:51 PM, Jan 29, 2024

January 29, 2024

Dear Kelly Mae Ablaza,

Greetings!

Thank you for your request dated Oct 12, 2023 07:38:16 PM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.

Your Request

You asked for Student's suicide rate in the Philippines.

Response to Request

Your FOI request is approved.

Thank you for your interest in mental health. We hope to address your request as best as possible. Please refer to the Mental Health Program for an overview of the services we provide and some materials we readily share.  Rest assured that the Mental Health Division looks into these conditions in compliance with RA11036, otherwise known as the Mental Health Act, which encompassess mental, neurological and substance use (MNS) disorders.

This is in response to your eFOI request (#DOH-041457035069) regarding your request on student's suicide rate before and after the pandemic. The proposed Mental Health Information System (MHIS) is still being developed and covers the statistics of priority conditions as stipulated in the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) at the link: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/treatment-care/mental-health-gap-action-programme#:~:text=mhGAP%20Operations%20Manual-,The%20WHO%20Mental%20Health%20Gap%20Action%20Programme%20(mhGAP)%20aims%20at,to%20achieve%20universal%20health...

namely: depression, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, suicide, epilepsy, dementia, disorders due to use of alcohol, disorders due to use of illicit drugs, and mental disorders in children. The MHIS (to be managed by the National Center for Mental Health) should integrate and consolidate mental health related data including cases on mental health conditions. Although this may also be through the improvement of the iClinicSys of the DOH Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service (KMITS). As stated, not all listed cases would have data in our surveys and we are yet to improve hospital data through the establishment of electronic medical records. 

In the meantime, we would like to share with you the terminal report (attached) of the National Survey for Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHW) to give us a picture of the mental health status of the country as a whole while we wait for the consolidation of electronic medical records of patients and as we improve our information systems. The study is a household survey that was commissioned by DOH to provide information on the state of mental health in the country while we improve our hospital data. Please also refer to the WHO Global Suicide Estimates, 2019  (https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mental-health/suicide-rates) for global and country data on suicides. Based on the Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS5) 2021, there has been an increase in suicide ideations and attempts.

Thank you

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to the DOH Central Appeals and Review Committee, at foi@doh.gov.ph. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011).

Thank you.

Respectfully,

FOI Decision Maker
FOI Receiving Officer