Bataan to combat suicide, drowning incidents
BALANGA CITY — Alarmed by the increasing number of suicide and drowning incidents in Bataan, Governor Albert Raymond Garcia bared his strategies to further provide a positive and safe community for his const i t uent s.
Garcia stressed the trend of suicide especially among the youth and shared his plans to combat mental illness in the province.
“We should form a technical working group on mental health that would monitor theincreasing number of suicides and other
by the increasing number of suicide and drowning incidents in Bataan, Governor Albert Raymond Garcia bared his strategies to further provide a positive and safe community for his constituents.— Mar Jay S. Del as Al as/PIA-3
mental health issues,” Garcia said during a meeting of the Provincial Local Health Board.
The 1Bataan Command Center may also have a suicide prevention hotline to counsel Bataeños who are depressed or having suicidal thoughts.
Furthermore, Garcia also emphasized the accidental deaths which include drowning incidents especially in the coastal areas in some towns of the province.
According to the recent data of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), a total of 50 drowning incidents have been recorded since 2016.
In order to curb the incidents, Garcia instructed PDRRMO to educate and train responders and life guards especially those in beaches and private resorts.
The Provincial Local Health Board is continuously promoting health programs and campaigns to prolong the life expectancy of each Bataeño.
This is in line with Bataan’s vision that by 2020, the province will have the lowest poverty incidence resulting from quality growth, attaining top-level human development index in the Philippines.
— Mar Jay S. Delas Alas/ PIA-3