TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION ABOUT SUICIDE
THE Davao City Health Office (CHO) urges Dabawenyos to stay vigilant about mental health concerns and take advantage of free consultations and counseling services available at the city's district health centers.
Dr. Luis Antonio Flores, CHO mental health coordinator, said in an interview on Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, October 19, 2026, that health center doctors and nurses are trained to handle the city's most common mental health conditions, so patients can get help closer to home.
"So ang consultation, counseling, libre na siya (So the consultation, counseling, it's free)," Flores noted.
A CHO advisory released for National Mental Health Week, held every second week of October, lists five mental health services: counseling, consultation, psychotherapy, medication, and seminars on mental health awareness. It urges residents to visit the nearest health center for free health care services.
Dr. Flores said the CHO's outpatient mental health consultations cover anxiety, depression, and primary psychotic disorders, which he described as the common cases in the city.
"So as much as possible catered sa community level para mas paspas ang serbisyo, same time mas paspas ang intervention na mabuhat sa mga katong posible nga maglala ang mga kondisyon (So as much as possible, it is catered at the community level so the service is faster, and at the same time the intervention is faster for those whose conditions could worsen)," he said.
The city's mental health program began with the Mental Health Code, City Ordinance No. 0721-19. The City Council approved the ordinance on March 12, 2019, and on July 29, 2024, the city government issued Executive Order No. 25, creating a technical working group to draft the code's implementing rules and regulations. The city mayor chairs the group, and the CHO serves as its secretariat.
Trained health workers
Flores said most doctors and nurses in the health centers have been trained under the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), which prepares non-specialists to give basic mental health services where psychiatrists and psychologists are lacking.
Health workers have also been trained in mental health and psychosocial support and psychological first aid, which he said are used for victims of fires and other disasters.
At the health center, a doctor or nurse takes the patient's history, including possible triggers, abuse, substance use, and bullying, before making a diagnosis.
Patients with suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts are treated as emergencies and referred to SPMC, with transport arranged through the barangay and health centers. According to the official, they can return to the health center for follow-up check-ups.
Psychiatric consultations and crisis hotline services at the SPMC Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine (IPBM) on JP Laurel Avenue, Bajada, are free of charge, according to an SPMC-IPBM announcement. First-time patients may walk in from 8 am to 3 pm, Monday to Friday, except holidays.
The crisis hotline runs daily from 8 am to 10 pm, while the IPBM Psychiatric Emergency Unit is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The city government opened the center, a shelter and outpatient counseling facility for homeless people with mental health conditions, at the SPMC Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine compound on C.M. Recto Street, Poblacion District, on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
The center served 297 outpatients and admitted at least 24 patients from January to December 2024, according to the city government.
Watch for the signs
Flores said sleep is one of the first warning signs families should watch for.
"Number one: tulog. Apektado nang kulangan tulog, sobraan tulog (Number one: sleep. Too little sleep, too much sleep)," he said.
Other signs include a drop in functioning, such as repeated absences from work. For students, the signs include absences, no longer joining school activities they used to enjoy, and sudden changes in behavior, he said.
He added that recurring headaches or palpitations with normal laboratory results may point to anxiety, which can lead to depression if left unaddressed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks depressive disorders as the second leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide in 2021, accounting for 6.2 percent of the global total.
Flores also said young people seek help more readily than other groups, while many adults stay in denial and see mental health problems as a weakness, a view he called wrong.
He urged parents, grandparents, and other caregivers to stay alert, and teachers to tell parents when they notice changes in a student.
"So very important 'yon na ma-educate ang community regarding mga sintomas sa mental health (So it is very important that the community is educated about the symptoms of mental health conditions)," he said.
"Vigilance lang sa part sa parents and sa caregivers (It's vigilance, on the part of parents and caregivers)," he added.
The interview came weeks after SPMC reported 75 referrals involving suicide attempts at its main hospital from January to August 2026, and about 297 calls to its crisis hotline since its launch in July. GRS