Incompetent Covid response exacerbates mental health problems among Filipinos, especially youth: Pangilinan

GOVERNMENT'S incompetent Covid-19 response marked by almost two years of lockdowns has caused anxieties among Filipinos, exacerbating mental health problems especially among young people, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said Thursday.

"Nakakabaliw ang walang makain, ang gutom. Nakakabaliw ang mawalan ng trabaho," Pangilinan said.

"Dahil sa palpak na Covid-19 response ng ating gobyerno, dumami ang nagutom at nawalan ng trabaho sa ating mga kababayan. Ang mga hakbang na ginawa, kung hindi late ay wala sa hulog. Dapat makinig sa mamamayan," he said.

"At walang kasing-sama ang pagkakitaan pa ang pandemya at paghihirap ng mga tao," Pangilinan added.

Citing a UNICEF report, Pangilinan said among the most vulnerable individuals badly hit by the pandemic are the students, noting the challenges during the shift from face-to-face class to a completely virtual class, which has minimal to no interaction among students.

The UNICEF report was corroborated by a study conducted by the mental health firm MindNation, which showed that 53% of Filipino workers, particularly healthcare workers, experienced mental health crisis during the long lockdowns.

Getting retrenched and uncertainty in employment are among the top contributors of Filipino workers' anxieties. Based on World Health Organization (WHO) data, at least 3.6 million Filipinos suffer from one mental disorder.

"Kailangan ng lockdowns pero hindi yung ganoon kalawak o katagal dahil di sinama ang testing at contact tracing sa solusyon. Hindi makatarungan at hindi katanggap-tanggap ang napakahaba na nga ng lockdowns dito sa Pilipinas ay hindi pa rin naging maayos ang pagtugon sa Covid-19," Pangilinan stressed, saying the Philippines is the only country that hasn't opened schools yet.

"Hindi na nakakagulat na mas lalong nahirapan nitong pandemya ang marami sa ating mga kababayang may iniindang mental health issue. Talagang napabayaan sila," the lawmaker added.

Earlier, the vice-presidential aspirant earlier called to expand the capacity of the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in order to cater to the mental health needs of Filipinos as mental-health interventions in private institutions are not budget-friendly.

But more than this, Pangilinan said, the government must be more pro-active and aggressive in solving the pandemic as this will result in lesser mental strain for Filipinos.

"Pinaka-mainam pa rin talaga na ayusin na ng pamahalaan ang pagtugon nito sa pandemya. Kapag maayos ang pandemic response, magreresulta ito sa muling pagbangon ng ekonomiya at pagbalik sigla ng iba't ibang negosyo, na siya namang magiging daan upang makapagtrabahong muli ang ating mga kababayan," Pangilinan said.

"Sa atin namang mga mag-aaral, makakabalik na sila sa kani-kanilang paaralan. Wala talagang tatalo sa face-to-face classes. At makakatulong ang maayos na pandemic response upang makabangon muli ang ating health sector at magiging daan upang mabigyan ng kaunting break ang ating magigiting na frontliners," he added.