ILOILO – The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) recorded seven cases of suicide since January of this year.
With two cases, Pavia so far has the most cases among the province’s 42 towns and one component city. Alimodian, Dueñas, Leon, Santa Barbara, and Calinog came in next week with one case each.
One of the seven individuals who killed themselves was a minor. Another was in his early 20s while the rest were in their late 50s, IPPO records further showed.
Depression mostly drove them to end their lives, according to IPPO chief Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, citing the statements of these victims’ families.
Just this Feb. 14, a 17-year-old lad was found dead hanging from a tree in Barangay Banban Pequeño, Calinog.
Gorero said the January-February cases were much lower than the 19 cases recorded in the same period last year.
“We hope this trend continues. We were disturbed by the 92 suicide cases last year,” Gorero said.
He attributed the declining numbers to years of IPPO massive information drive to combat suicide.
The less stringent community quarantine measures in most towns in the province also contributed to the decrease, Gorero added.
He further said that IPPO’s “Pag-ulikid Desks” in various police units remain operational to facilitate intervention for individuals needing moral, psychological or spiritual support.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) acknowledged that physical distancing, self-isolation, working from home and loss of social contacts during the community quarantine could sink some people into loneliness and depression, and even suicide.
DOH has suicide prevention hotlines – 0917-899-8727 (USAP) and 0917-989-8727 (USAP)./PN
