Twenty-one suicide cases reported in Ifugao as the 6th top most reason of death as of 2024.
According to the Provincial Health Office (PHO), there were 12 males and nine females.
Dr. Noel II Aliguyon, MD, Public Health Officer II, stated that individuals ages 15-24 years old are most commonly affected by mental health problems.
Previously, they conducted a program called “Healthy Ifugao School Caravan” in Ifugao State University (IFSU) Main Campus in March 2025, to give lectures and raise awareness to the youth about mental health, HIV awareness wherein a total of 55 cases were reported, and topics on drug abuse.
Aside from the above-mentioned topics, they also included the reproductive health of women since PHO listed 184 as the number of adolescent birth rate, ages 15-19 as of 2024.
Dr. Aliguyon also noted that young people often share their problems to their friends or peers than to adults. Through lectures and training, the students are equipped to identify peers who may be going through struggles and encourage them to consult with trained counselors.
“Parang may research din dito sa IFSU na ang result noon ay kung kanino sila usually nagcoconsult and pinakamataas doon ay sa peers nila… icacapacitate natin sila para [maka] early recognize ng signs and symptoms kung kanino nila pwedeng irefer, meron ding patraining sa mga teachers and parents (There was a research conducted here in IFSU which the result of it, is where do they usually consult and the highest was with their peers…we capacitate them to help with early recognition of signs and symptoms so they know whom to refer. There are also training sessions provided for teachers and parents),” he emphasized.
Aliguyon added: “Hopefully yung mga student na icacapacitate namin ay i-share din nila yung information na shinare namin [on mental health awareness information drive] (Hopefully the student that we capacitated will share the information that we shared with them).”
There are a lot of doctors in Ifugao, but they do not focus on mental health. Psychologists and Psychometricians are very few to meet every patient’s needs as Siena Jobelyn Purayon, Medical Technologist II shared.
For instance, there were 7,478 total new licensed psychometricians in 2024 according to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). When estimated with the Current Philippine Population which is 117 million according to Statista, it will be estimated one psychometrician is 15,600 people.
There is a referral system supported by the Universal Health Care (UHC) program where the health workers assess the patients and usually refer to Baguio General Hospital (BGH) through the Adolescent Friendly Facility.// Hazel L. Tugguin, BSU-DevCom Intern
