Misunderstanding mental health

Mental health remains a largely misunderstood issue in this country, and this is never more apparent than in the recent statement of Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., since retracted, that the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program can “cure” mental health problems.

Not only is this a dangerous assertion made by a nonexpert; it also reflects how the government tends to—in today’s lingo—take out the mental health card to push an agenda. This brings to mind how an official in the previous administration justified the dolomite beach project as beneficial to mental health even if the small strip could not accommodate a huge crowd without sparking an outbreak at the height of the pandemic, and was harmful to the environment.

After health experts countered Galvez’s fantastic claim, he later clarified that he meant ROTC “would be able to build the strength of character and resilience of trainees, qualities which positively foster mental health.”

ROTC, however, has been criticized for rampant corruption and breeding a macho culture that spawned human rights abuses, misogyny, and homophobia—actions that promote a stressful environment and do not have a place in modern society. It is a system that does not provide a catch-all solution to mental illness—the Department of Health has already said so—and the abuses committed under its name, including hazing and other forms of physical abuse, have led to deaths. Four years ago, a freshman student in Iloilo died after an ROTC officer hit him in the head with a pipe for checking his cell phone without permission. Activists have warned back then that the incident should already serve as a warning to lawmakers who support the ROTC revival—and that the program should be abolished altogether.

Has the public forgotten Mark Welson Chua? He was a student at the University of Santo Tomas and a member of the ROTC unit’s intelligence monitoring team who had exposed corruption within the organization to the school paper, The Varsitarian, in January 2001. The unit’s commandant was relieved, and two months later, Chua’s body was found floating in the Pasig River wrapped in cloth and packing tape. His death became the catalyst for Republic Act No. 9163 or the National Service Training Program Act of 2001. Under this law, college students were given the option to choose between ROTC, Literacy Training Service, and Civil Welfare Training Service as part of their required National Service Training Program.

Opposition to ROTC’s revival has been loud since President Rodrigo Duterte first floated the idea in 2016, an irony since he himself disclosed evading ROTC—by presenting fake medical documents showing he had tuberculosis—in order to graduate from college. His daughter, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, renewed the call last year, this time making it a mandatory service for Filipinos once they reach the age of 18. This, she said in a speech shortly after getting elected, was part of education reforms meant to develop a new generation of youth who are disciplined and patriotic.

If the government wants to foster discipline, social responsibility, and patriotism in the youth, it can do so by setting a good example of leadership and love of country. The youth need role models that they could emulate: public servants who are disciplined, socially responsible, not the first to flout the laws, and who place the country’s interest before themselves. Besides, these virtues, particularly patriotism, are already taught in school through subjects like history and ethics. These subjects, together with critical thinking, should instead be given more attention in the curriculum.

If the government wants to promote mental health programs in schools, it should do so by providing institutional support so that the Department of Education can hire more professional counselors instead of delegating the task to teachers who have not been trained to provide mental health services. It should allocate more for mental health programs: In 2021, it was only P286 million, or 3 percent of the Department of Health’s budget. While the annual budget has since increased to P568 million in 2022, and to P1 billion this year, is this enough? This amounts to only about P9 per Filipino—there are more than three million Filipinos suffering from mental health disorders, and this figure only covers cases that have been reported. On the other hand, mental health conditions cost the country almost P70 billion a year.

The government should do more to promote research-backed mental health programs instead of pushing for one that has been known to cause physical and psychological stress. Government officials should also support health professionals to lead the way, instead of being the ones who perpetuate misconceptions and misunderstanding about mental health.