City Councilor Luis Marcaida III raised concern over what he described as a rising number of self-harm incidents in Puerto Princesa City, many of which now involve young people.
He delivered the statement in a privilege speech before the City Council on Tuesday.
Marcaida opened his remarks by recalling the familiar line attributed to Jose Rizal that the youth are the hope of the nation. But he said the situation in the city today contradicts this because of the growing number of cases.
He noted that figures and statistics from the city’s social welfare sectors had already been recorded.
He then shared a personal detail, saying the most recent victim was a child in their own family.
“Nakakabahala po ang mga pangyayari nitong mga nakaraang buwan dahil sa pagtaas ng mga kaso ng mga pagpapakamatay,” he said.
“Ang huli pong biktima ay walang iba kundi ang pamangkin ng akin pong misis at pamangkin ko na rin,” he added.
Marcaida said he had planned to deliver the speech earlier but was unable to do so because he arrived late to a previous session.
He pushed for two resolutions, the first urging coordinated intervention from city agencies, including the City Treatment office, the City Social Welfare and Development Office, the City Health Office, the City Police Office, and the Parents-Teachers Associations of different schools.
Marcaida emphasized that many of the recent cases involved high school students, which made the issue more urgent.
He also stressed the need for government institutions, civil society groups, and religious organizations to work together so they can reach out to schools where many of the incidents have been reported.
His second resolution called for an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation into reports of a group chat on social media where self-harm is allegedly being discussed.
He explained that verifying this report is important to understand the deeper causes and prevent more cases among young people.
Marcaida noted that the most recent incident before the session involved another minor from a barangay in the city, adding to the urgency of the matter.
