San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan Congresswoman Florida "Rida" Perez Robes was alarmed by the number of teenagers who commited suicide due to mental health issues. 

“In one public high school in a barangay in our town, 10 students, all teenagers, died of suicide due to mental health issues, in a span of one year. Many of the cases are related to online bullying,” says Rida.

To give hope among her constituents , Rep. Robes visits barangays and schools in her city. Trainings are also given to students to make them aware of their healthy responsibilities to themselves. 

“Depression needs to be treated. Early intervention can come in the form of caring. It helps a lot when a depressed individual knows someone cares,” says Rida

The SJDM representative is truly an advocate for mental health, she, together with with other lawmakers like Pangasinan Rep. Baby Arenas and Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Ann Hofer, signed a partnership with Korean-based Sunfull Foundation, an international non-governmental organization that further raises mental health awareness among youth and helps combat cyberbullying.

According to Rida, who was appointed by the foundation as an ambassador of the Sunfull Internet Peace Movement, many studies have shown that our country has one of the highest cases of depression in Southeast Asia with at least 3.3 million Filipinos who suffer from it.

Rida is working hard to put up a mental health wellness center in San Jose del Monte. In fact, House Bill No. 2383 (an act establishing a mental health clinic in the city) has been approved in the committee level in congress.

In her recent speech titled "Changing Faces," Rida wants to bring back the “smiley” on these “changed faces,” she calls upon government institutions, specifically Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, to “formulate and implement an ethical orientation program anchored on the teaching of moral and philosophical values... that are necessary for human survival.”