School suicide rate in Philippines "alarming" in 2021, says official

MANILA, Jan 31 (Xinhua): At least 404 public school learners committed suicide, and 2,147 learners attempted suicide in the Philippines in 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an official of the Department of Education said on Tuesday, calling it "an alarming rate that continues to go up."

Philippine Education Assistant Secretary Dexter Galban told a senate hearing that the school suicide rate "is something we look into," stressing that even one suicide case is too much.