One of the rising issues in education in the Philippines. Photos not mine.

1. LET ME ASK YOU

2. ARE YOU HAPPY?
DO YOU FEEL STRESSED?
ARE CONTENTED?
ARE YOU PRESSURED?

3. Philippine’s Concern over
PREPARED BY: CHARM- ANN B.
BONCODIN, LPT
TEACHER
SUICIDES

4. WHAT IS SUICIDE?
the act of voluntarily taking one’s
own life due to pressure, anxiety,
sadness and other factors ruining a
person’s mental health.

5. Studies shown that the number of suicide cases
has risen drastically over the last two years.
The World Health Organization predicts mental
disorders will account for 13% of the global
burden of diseases

6.  over 4.5 million cases of depression
were reported in the Philippines,
according to the Department of
Health (DOH). Majority of those
who died by suicide were between
15 to 29 years old.

7. MAJOR CAUSES OF SUICIDE
 Depression
 Anxiety
 Bullying
 Deterioration of Social
Relationship
 Other mental disorders

8. LATELY, THERE HAS BEEN A SERIES OF
REPORTED SUICIDES OF TEACHERS IN
THE PHILIPPINES.

9. SENTIMENTS

10.  The Teacher’s Dignity Coalition (TDC) has cited the
heavy burden of paperwork as among the reasons
why.
“Two cases of suicide in just two months
purportedly due to work-related issues should
alarm the DepEd and take necessary steps. We
have been raising the issue of overburden due
to clerical tasks required of teachers.”
-TDC chair Benjo Basas

11. As for the Department of Education, Undersecretary
Annalyn Sevilla said, that while a single case of death
is saddening, it is very inaccurate to highlight the
heavy workload as representative of the situation of
the more than 800,000 public school teachers in the
country.

12.  Edgar Tenasas, DepEd-Leyte assistant division superintendent
said that:
 Making reports and preparing lesson plans are part of a
teacher’s life.
 It is more convenient now with the available technology.
 We are luckier now because back in the day, teachers had to
produce everything in handwritten copies.

13. Tenasas said, “The suicide incident is a
wake-up call for public school teachers to
learn how to manage work pressures.”

14.  Christian Gloria, associate professor of public health
at the Department of Public Health, said that people
may believe that due to the advancement of
technology, people should have less stress but it’s
not.
 He opinioned that
because of technology,
people are expected to
accomplish more and
thus, overburdened with
workload.

15. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
AND PROPOSED
ACTIONS

16. DepEd said:
 They will need professional advice
and (psychological and spiritual)
guidance and they will engage with
external partners to provide
assistance to their teachers.
 The implementing rules and regulations of the mental
health law ongoing and support system of teachers need to
be strengthened, more de-stressing activities, find hobbies
or interests.

17. Plans to establish a pre-orientation
and transition program prior to
deployment of rookie teachers.
Add non-teaching personnel who
would accomplish the paper works
for teachers.

18.  Senator Sonny Angara said he has filed Senate Resolution No.
914 that aims to determine whether the suicides were indeed
caused by heavy teacher workload as claimed by a group
pushing for teachers’ rights and welfare.
 He said he also filed Senate Bill No. 135
to upgrade the minimum salary grade
level of public school teachers from salary
grade 11 to 19, which will double their monthly pay from
P20, 179 to P42, 099.

19.  DepEd has reduced the paperwork for teachers to help
them “focus more on teaching.” From 36 school forms,
they need to fill out only 10.
“As a result, the Department has reduced 36
common school forms to 10 official school forms,
which already include forms for Senior High
School, and has streamlined processes –
minimizing duplication and redundancy of data,
and diminishing time and effort spent by teachers
on work preparations.”

21. Dear Teacher,
If you are feeling stressed, remember that
sadness is just temporary. This, too, shall
pass.
You have to fight through some bad days
to earn the best days of your life.
Individuals suffering from depression and needing assistance may call HopeLine Hotlines at (02) 804-HOPE (4673);
0917 558 HOPE (4673); and 2919 (toll-free number for all GLOBE and TM subscribers).

22. THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!