READING MATERIALS FOR DISS

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/08/29/1947360/33-million-pinoys-suffer-depression

3.3 million Pinoys suffer from depression

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has one of the highest cases of

depression in Southeast Asia, affecting more than three million Filipinos, a
lawmaker in the House of Representatives said.

Rep. Rida Robes of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan revealed this in a privilege
speech last Tuesday evening as she lamented the rising rates of suicide
among the country’s youth.

She expressed alarm over depression becoming as prevalent as the common

cold in the country, affecting around 3.3 million Filipinos.

“It is recognized by our own Department of Health (DOH) as a serious health

condition, and the weight of haplessness, hopelessness and helplessness—
the three dreaded ‘H’ symptoms of depression—gravitate towards what now
are the new high-risk group: the young population,” she said.

Citing a 2017 World Health Organization report, Robes said eight in every
100,000 Filipinos commit suicide. Of this figure, six are males, while two are
females, aged 15 to 29 years old.

The same report showed that an average of 3,000 people worldwide take their
own lives every day, or a suicide case every 40 seconds.

Robes said the study attributed the increase in suicide cases to social media,
changing lifestyle and lack of family and community support, which led to a
convergence of “risk factors” like social disconnection and weakening of
“helpful factors” such as genuine relationships and healthy lifestyles.

“Many of them lack a sense of purpose in life and experience

disconnectedness and deteriorating relationships brought about by social
media and technology. At home, relationships or guidance may not be better
either, when parents would lack quality time with their children due to their
busy schedule or if when one or both of them work abroad,” the lawmaker
lamented. School life is also a source of high level stress, she added.
Robes has asked colleagues in Congress to pass a law that would restore the
study of values education as a stand-alone subject in basic and higher
educational curricula. Legislation on responsible social media usage among
young people should also be passed, she further stated.

Robes also vowed to move for the conduct of a congressional inquiry on the
construction and loading of senior high school curriculum, and probe into the
age-appropriateness of difficult subjects such as calculus, statistics and
research, as well as the exercise of its oversight powers over the
implementation of Republic Act 11036, also known as the Philippine Mental
Health Law.

She likewise called on the DOH to step up the implementation of RA 11036,

particularly the launching of strong and widely promoted anti-suicide helplines.

“The Department must also be prompted to implement community-based

mental health programs with the same vigor and determination it shows in
championing anti-AIDS, anti-dengue and anti-Japanese encephalitis
campaigns,” she appealed.

The lawmaker also urged religious institutions, civil society organizations and
private corporations to contribute their share in addressing these emergent
problems through counseling, stress debriefing, establishment of helplines for
young people.

Lastly, she suggested the relaxation of steep licensing requirements for

guidance counselors, to allow public schools to hire the required number of
guidance counselors to help students cope with mental health issues.
https://psa.gov.ph/content/one-four-women-have-ever-experienced-spousal-violence-preliminary-
results-2017-national

One In Four Women Have Ever

Experienced Spousal Violence
(Preliminary results from the 2017
National Demographic and Health Survey)
Reference Number:
2018-048
Release Date:
Monday, March 26, 2018
Based on the preliminary findings of the 2017 National Demographic and
Health Survey (NDHS), one in four (26%) ever-married women aged 15-49 has
ever experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence by their husband or
partner. One in five (20%) women has ever experienced emotional
violence, 14 percent has ever experienced physical violence, and 5
percent has ever experienced sexual violence by their current or most recent
husband or partner.

Table 1 shows the prevalence of different forms of violence experienced by

ever-married women 15-49 of age according to background characteristics of
women. As observed, the percentage of women who have experienced
violence in physical, sexual, and/or emotional form, from their husband
declines slightly with women’s age. Women who are divorced, separated, or
widowed are more likely to have experienced all forms of violence by their
most recent partner compared with women who are married or living
together: 53 percent of divorced, separated, or widowed women have
experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence compared with 24
percent of women who are married or living together.

Women’s experience with violence by a partner varies widely by region: only 7

percent of ever-married women in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao report experiencing physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their
last partner compared with 52 percent of ever-married women in Caraga. All
forms of violence generally decline with increasing household wealth.

Spousal violence refers to violence perpetrated by partners in a marital union.

Since spousal or intimate partner violence is the most common form of
violence for women aged 15-49, the 2017 National Demographic and Health
Survey collected detailed information on the different types of violence
experienced. Currently married women were asked about violence
perpetrated by their current husband or partner, and formerly married
women were asked about violence perpetrated by their most recent husband
or partner.

The Republic Act No. 9262 or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act of 2004” is one of the Philippine government’s initiative in
addressing the issue on violence against women.Under this Act, violence
against women is classified as a public crime and penalizes all forms of abuse
and violence within the family and intimate relationships.

The NDHS 2017 is a nationally representative survey of almost 31,000

households and 25,000 women aged 15-49. The survey was conducted from 14
August to 27 October 2017. The NDHS 2017 is the eleventh in a series of
demographic surveys undertaken in the Philippine since 1968. Funding for the
NDHS 2017 was provided by the Government of the Philippines. The United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided technical
assistance and equipment through ICF under the Demographic and Health
Surveys (DHS) program. A comprehensive final report will be disseminated by
third quarter of this year.
Nearly 200,000 Filipino teens
get pregnant annually:
POPCOM
MANILA—About 500 teenage girls give birth in the Philippines every day as more adolescents
engage in premarital sex, the Commission on Population (POPCOM) said Thursday, raising concerns
about early and unplanned pregnancies in the world's 13th most populated country.

Teenage pregnancy rate in the country declined to 8.7 percent in 2017 from 10.2 percent in 2016, but
the number still remains high, POPCOM executive-director Juan Antonio Perez told reporters on the
sidelines of a World Population Day Forum in Quezon City.

Some 196,000 Filipinos between the ages of 15 and 19 years old get pregnant each year, he said.

The teenage pregnancy rate in Asia's lone Catholic-dominated country remains high, as 30 percent of
youngsters engaged in premarital sex in 2017, 10 percent higher than in 2016, he said.

Filipino teens who were exposed to vice or the internet at an early age usually end up with unplanned
pregnancies, the POPCOM chief said.

"Of course, maraming content doon na walang filter. It might be pornography, it might be other
matters," Perez said.

(Of course, there are more unfiltered content on the internet. It might be pornography, it might be
other matters.)

Hanging out with drunk friends usually leads to intimate affairs, he added.

KINDER SEX ED?

The government plans to curb teenage pregnancy in the country by incorporating comprehensive sex
education modules as early as kindergarten, Perez said.

"Hindi bagong subject ito. It will be integrated in the subjects that they have," he said.

"For example, 'yung kinder, tuturuan kung ano ang good touch at kung ano ang bad touch."

It is important for children to learn these at an early age as they are more prone to sexual abuse, Perez
said, noting that more Filipinos in the range of 10 to 14 years old got pregnant in 2017.

"Tumataas 'yung area na 'yun and we really want to address that. May elemento kasi 'yun ng abuse,"
he said.
There were at least 2,000 10 to 14-year-old Filipinos who were pregnant in 2017; that's 200 cases
more than in 2016, he said.

"Mahalaga ang conprehensive sexual education kasi ang kabataan ang informant lang nila ay kapwa
kabataan," he said.

'SLOW-MOVING CRISIS'

The rising teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines has contributed to the country's population
"crisis," Socioeconomic Planning Sec. Ernesto Pernia said.

"We are seeing the height of the crisis now. The carrying capacity of the country is overstretched," he
said.

"It results to lack of jobs because there are many workers looking for jobs. [But] There are fewer job
opportunities."

About 2 million babies are born in the country annually, data from a 2015 Census showed.

The government has earmarked P10.4 billion to procure and distribute family planning commodities
nationwide until 2022, Perez said.

"We just have to accelerate, redouble, triple, or even quadruple our efforts. It’s really a catch-up
plan," Pernia said.
https://business.inquirer.net/281269/ph-poverty-rate-seen-falling-below-20-starting-2020

PH poverty rate seen

falling below 20%
starting 2020
High-quality job creation, human capital investment boost needed to ensure shared prosperity
By: Ben O. de Vera - Reporter / @bendeveraINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:30 AM October 17, 2019

Amid easing inflation and rising incomes, the World Bank expects poverty rate in
the Philippines to fall below 20 percent starting next year.

In its Macro Poverty Outlook for East Asia and the Pacific report, the World Bank
projected poverty incidence in the Philippines at 20.8 percent by the end of 2019,
down from 26 percent in 2015, the latest comparable full-year date from the
Philippine government.

The report was released this week on the sidelines of the Washington-based
lender’s annual meeting.

The World Bank had estimated poverty incidence in the Philippines at 24.5
percent for 2016, 23.1 percent for 2017 and 21.9 percent for 2018.

Its medium-term poverty projections were based on the lower middle-income

poverty line of $3.20 per day.

At that threshold, the World Bank sees the Philippines’ poverty rate further
declining to 19.8 percent next year and 18.7 percent in 2021.

“Despite a temporary growth slowdown in the first half of 2019, progress on

shared prosperity is likely to continue,” it said.
Partial estimates of the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey showed that
incomes of households in lower-income deciles grew at a much faster pace than
the average, the World Bank report read.

“Meanwhile, cash transfer schemes from the government will continue to help
cushion the impact of negative shocks. Given the continuous expansion of
nonagriculture wage employment, rising real wage, continuation of social
programs, and stabilizing inflation, the declining trend in poverty is likely to
continue,” it added.

In a report last month, the World Bank said the 12-year-old conditional cash
transfer scheme called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) slashed the
nationwide poverty rate by 1.2-1.5 percentage points (ppt) between 2012 and
2015.

4Ps also reduced income inequality by 0.5-0.6 ppt in the same period, it said.

Citing the latest Philippine government data, the World Bank noted that poverty
incidence slid to 21 percent in the first half of 2018 from 27.6 percent during the
same period of 2015 “as real wages continue to rise, and employment continues to
expand towards nonagriculture wage employment.”

The latest poverty incidence figure is equivalent to 23.1 million poor Filipinos,
down from the 28.8 million below the poverty threshold three years ago.

“However, the high inflation experienced in the second half of 2018, especially
among lower-income households, may have dampened the gains from higher
wage and salary incomes,” the World Bank said.

To recall, inflation hit a 10-year high of 5.2 percent last year as consumer prices
peaked mostly during the second half when global oil prices skyrocketed and food
prices soared due to local supply bottlenecks, especially of rice.

But state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)
had nonetheless pointed out that traditionally, full-year poverty incidence rates
were lower than those posted in the first half.
“What we hope is that the increase in income will offset the increase in prices in
the second semester of 2018,” Neda Assistant Secretary Carlos Bernardo Abad
Santos said in April.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release the full-year 2018 poverty data in
December.

Moving forward, the World Bank said that fostering high-quality job creation and
boosting human capital investment would enhance the impact of economic growth
on poverty reduction and shared prosperity.

To increase the growth impact on poverty and inequality, targeted investments

and supportive business regulations are needed in industries and sectors that
generate high-quality jobs, it said.

Human capital investments in education and health must be fortified, including

training and skills development, which will be needed for workers to stay
competitive in a fast-changing global work environment, it added.
“Finally, improving social-protection programs, including the 4Ps, will support the
incomes of poor households and help build their resilience against adverse
shocks,” the World Bank said.
Poverty in the Philippines: Violence
against Women
Poverty in the Philippines: Violence against Women
(Note: This piece is a segment from a larger article “Poverty in the Philippines: A Profile”, showcased in Focus-
Philippines’ upcoming Poverty Policy Review)
Violence against Women and Wealth Quintiles
Lowest Quintile Second Middle Fourth Highest
Women aged 14- 28.5 25.8 19.8 17.3 11.9
49, having
experienced
physical violence
Women aged 14- 13.9 11.9 8.8 5.6 4.9
49, having
experienced sexual
violence
Women aged 14- 34.1 34.0 31.5 25.1 19.1
49, having
experienced
spousal violence
(physical and
sexual)
Source: National Statistics Office— NDHS (2008)

The experience of poverty places enormous stresses on the relationships and psychological states of the poor— this
takes its toll on the kinds of social relations they cultivate, often in ways that may reinforce their present state of
immiseration. The poor are not always as “isolated” as some scholars may claim, yet one pattern that does appear to
hold valence is their greater exposure to violence, an exposure that may very well erode their own well-being and
relational quality with others.
One particular area where this heightened exposure to violence is especially visible— though by no means limited—
lies in domestic violence and violence against women. Far from being comprised by arbitrary, individually-determined
episodes, statistics of such violence find a straight-arrow relationship between income stratification and the frequency
of domestic violence: the poorer one is, the more domestic violence seems to be experienced.
For example, in the lowest income quintile, 28.5% have reported having been the victim of domestic violence. This
figure steadily decreases as one steps up the income ladder— 25.8% for the second quintile, 19.8% for the middle
quintile, until 11.9% for the highest quintile—, and is broadly parallel to trends for sexual violence and spousal
violence.