Robin Padilla: ‘Kids are weak’ remark based on suicide data

MANILA, Philippines—When he called today’s kids “weak,” it was not just an opinion but a reality supported by studies and records, according to Sen. Robin Padilla.

Padilla took to Facebook to explain his remark during Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate committee on public information and mass media on various measures regarding children’s safety on social media.

READ: Robin Padilla to kids today: Sorry, you are weak

“As the chairman of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, it is my mandate to be truthful to the people and not be plastic or pretentious in what I say, because that is the truth,” he explained in Filipino.

“It’s the suicide data we studied in our office that show today’s youth are weak; it is not merely the result of our suggestion or opinion,” he added.

And this was supported by studies from other progressive countries and data from the World Health Organization, according to him.

Padilla also cited a 2021 survey, which showed that nearly one in five (about 20%) Filipino youth aged 15 to 24 have thought about ending their lives.

Suicide attempts among young people, meanwhile,  increased to 7.5% in 2021, a 150 percent increase from the 3% recorded in 2013, while approximately 46% of all recorded suicide cases since 2010 involve young people aged 10–35, the senator added.

“So if you want to help address this issue concerning the youth, do something about it and stop talking about me. Act on the data, not on my statement,” he said.

“Focus on what is happening to our youth, not on me,” he added. /mcm