SK SIQUIJOR UNDERSCORES PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS PANDEMIC TOLL ON YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH

Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President of Siquijor Brylle Deeiah Tumarong discussed the programs and projects of the youth group amid the COVID-19 pandemic, during the Network Briefing News with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar. SK SIQUIJOR UNDERSCORES

PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS PANDEMIC

TOLL ON YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH

Local youth leaders are stepping up to address the simmering mental health crisis among young people, while the country continues to grapple with the impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President of Siquijor Brylle Deeiah Tumarong on Tuesday discussed the initiatives of the provincial government on this, noting that the suicide cases among the youth in Siquijor in 2020 were alarming. “This pandemic brought a lot of challenges not just to the Kabataang Siquijor but to the rest of Siquihodnons in the entire province,” he said during a taped interview for Network Briefing News with host Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar. According to Tumarong, there were seven (7) recorded suicide cases from August to December of last year. “It’s very alarming in the entire province because somehow for the first time, there would be continuous suicide cases in the province of Siquijor,” she said.

She said a task force was created to help address the deteriorating mental health of youth amid the pandemic, including the conduct of outdoor sports activities and training more young individuals to help cope with the pressing restrictions. “Currently, we have allowed the young Siquihodnons to participate in sports tournaments or sports activities, granted that all the minimum public health standards should be strictly observed. Considering the fact that according to research, sports could help us mentally,” she said. Through the task force, the SK also mobilized other youth leaders and extended its programs in schools. “After our governor signed the executive order on the creation of the said task force, immediately, we called for a meeting where we discussed the possible plans or programs of the province,” she said. “One of them is to train more young individuals to help us in group dynamics to help us in different issues that concern the young Siquihodnons, and also to create a group in the school level wherein we put drop boxes for letters so that individuals, even our teachers and the students, would express their feelings,” she added. Tumarong, who is also the designated spokesperson of the Siquijor Provincial Task Force against COVID-19, bared the provincial LGU is supportive and is ready to train young leaders that will help in conducting psychological first-aid to distressed youths and frontline workers. SK as anti-insurgency advocates Meanwhile, Tumarong also discussed that the SK Federation of Siquijor is engaged in programs aiming to attain peace and security in the country. A Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) was conducted, which aims to bring the government closer to the youth sector, especially that they are vulnerable to the deception of communist-terrorist groups. “It may be a small step for other individuals, but this is our one big step in helping not just the entire province of Siquijor, but also the entire Republic of the Philippines,” she said. (PCOO)