Mental health issues

 The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) released a strong statement about
the “Tililing” poster bearing an image that relies on negative perceptions of Filipinos living with
mental illness. The image was first circulated in mid-February 2021. According to the CHR,
“marami nang miskonsepsyon na bumabalot sa usapin ng mental health at hindi makakatulong
kung makakahon ito sa misleading na pagtingin” (Mercado, 2021).  
Stigmatization relies on an environment where misinformation, distorted media representation,
and the lack of proper representation pervade. Part of this environment is entertainment and
news media’s focus on “the individual with mental illness rather than framing mental illness as a
societal issue” (Saleh, 2020) where systematic, economic, and socio-cultural factors–including
widespread poverty–contribute to restrictions in accessing support (Tanaka, C. et al, 2018). 
Mental Health Stigma in 2021 — MentalHealthPH

 “The Department wants to ensure that the mental health of our personnel and learners are
being taken care of. While we have consistently conducted Mental Health and Psychosocial
Services for our stakeholders during this pandemic, we recognize that looking out for everyone’s
mental state is a continuous process,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
DepEd starts conducting series of activities in line with 2021 National Mental Health Week |
Department of Education
 About 1.14 million Filipinos have depression, 847,000 are battling alcohol-use disorders, while
520,000 others were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said Frances Prescilla Cuevas, chief health
program officer of the DOH's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau.
"The coronavirus pandemic is inducing a considerable degree of fear, worry and concern," she
said.
"Psychological impact includes elevated rates of stress or anxiety... Marami po sa mga (There
are a lot of) adult Filipinos are highly stressed," she said.
At least 3.6 million Filipinos battling mental health issues amid pandemic: DOH | ABS-CBN News
 Unfortunate suicide incidents have also circulated online relating to the alleged struggles that
come with distance learning such as increased workload, poor internet connectivity, lack of
learning materials, among others.
Yet, in a statement, DepEd urged the public to “stop directly connecting” suicide to modules or
online learning.
“We have received police blotters, incident reports, statements of families and initial
investigation of the cases, and none of them referred to distance learning as the primary cause,”
the government agency said, opposing those “(using) these unfortunate events to discredit the
efforts of the Department.”

Is distance learning becoming detrimental to Filipino students' mental health? • l!fe • The
Philippine Star (philstarlife.com)