ILOILO City – From January to September of this year, the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) recorded 251 suicide cases.
With 72 cases, Iloilo province has the most incidents among the two highly-urbanized cities and six provinces of the region. Negros Occidental and Aklan came next with 30 cases each.
But Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson, is not discounting the possibility that some suicide incidents may not have been reported.
In 2019, PRO-6 recorded 203 suicide incidents with Iloilo province leading (70 cases).
According to Malong, suicides are more of a mental health issue, thus beyond the police’s control.
“But we investigate to confirm if a case is really a suicide. Now, we are coordinating with other concerned agencies to mitigate suicides,” Malong said.
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.
Police Colonel Gilbert Gorero, Iloilo province’s top cop, also recognized the need to institute responsive strategies and mechanisms that will enable the community to cope with psychosocial issues brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Gorero intends to form a team of policemen with a background in Psychology to training under DOH. They could help individuals with suicidal tendencies, survivors of suicide and their families, he said.
DOH has suicide prevention hotlines – 0917-899-8727 (USAP) and 0917-989-8727 (USAP)./PN
