SENATE Majority Leader Joel Villanueva is confident that the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health will be removed by establishing policies such as a school-based mental health program.

Villanueva sought the passage of Senate Bill 2200 which seeks to institutionalize the school-based mental health program to promote the mental health and emotional well-being of all learners in public and private schools.

“It is our fervent hope that with the passage of this particular measure, the youth will finally have enough support system that will help foster their mental, emotional, and overall health and well-being,” Villanueva said.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the author of the bill, said that under the measure, there will be increased awareness among young people that seeking help from mental health specialists and associates is always an available option in their learning community.

“We cannot continue to allow our learners to suffer in silence. It is now up to us to create a world where mental health is valued, where those who are struggling are not judged or dismissed but embraced with understanding and care,” Gatchalian said.

Villanueva said that during the committee hearings on the measure, it was revealed that 404 students in various parts of the country committed suicide and 2,147 others attempted to take their lives during School Year 2021 –2022.