Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in the Philippines

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by trained counsellors or volunteer responders, depending on the service. If you are not in the Philippines, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. Most of the lines below describe themselves as free to call, and that is set out beside each one.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Each number below was checked in September 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at an official Philippine government page.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

911, the national emergency number

NCMH Crisis Hotline, 1553, the national mental-health crisis line

Hopeline, the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation's crisis line

In Touch Community Services Crisis Line

Tawag Paglaum-Centro Bisaya, Cebu and Central Visayas

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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911, the national emergency number

911 is the Philippines' national emergency number, run by the Emergency 911 National Office and listed on the government's own PH Emergency Hotlines portal as the "National Emergency Hotline". It has been the country's institutionalised emergency number since Executive Order No. 56 in 2018, replacing the earlier "117" number, and connects to police, fire and medical response.

Tel: 911

Hours and cost: not published on the government pages we checked.

NCMH Crisis Hotline, 1553, the national mental-health crisis line

The NCMH Crisis Hotline is run by the National Center for Mental Health, part of the Department of Health. It was set up under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Mental Health Act (Republic Act 11036), which called for "a twenty-four (24/7) hotline, to provide assistance to individuals with mental health conditions, especially individuals at risk of committing suicide". In the Department of Health's own words, it responds "to the needs of those in any mental health crisis, respond[s] to queries on all issues related to mental health and the mental health law, provide[s] information, initial counselling as necessary and proper triaging to capable mental health professionals or health facilities among others."

NCMH's own contact page describes the line as nationwide. A separate statement from July 2026 describes it instead as covering Luzon only. We could not resolve which is current, so both are reported here rather than one being chosen.

Tel: 1553 (landline)

Tel: 1800-1888-1553

Tel: 0919-057-1553 (SMART/TNT)

Tel: 0917-899-8727 (GLOBE/TM)

Tel: 0966-351-4518 (GLOBE/TM)

Hours: "operated 24/7", in the Department of Health's own words at the hotline's launch, tied to the Mental Health Act's 24-hour mandate.

Cost: not published on NCMH's own page.

Hopeline, the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation's crisis line

Hopeline is run by the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, now also known as NGF-Mindstrong, named for Jean Goulbourn's daughter. In the foundation's own words, it is a "24/7 toll free suicide and emotional crisis line where one-to-one telephone exchanges assist and support callers in crisis due to depression or suicide issues and/or callers who are not necessarily in immediate crisis but may need help to prevent a crisis from occurring or to de-escalate an ongoing one".

Tel: 02-8804-4673

Tel: 0917-558-4673

Tel: 0918-873-4673

Hours: "24/7", in the foundation's own words.

Cost: described as toll free on the foundation's own page for the numbers above.

In Touch Community Services Crisis Line

In Touch Community Services describes its Crisis Line, in its own words, as "a free service offered by In Touch Community Services, a non-profit, non-governmental organization geared towards improving the mental health of our community. Every day, Crisis Line responds to emotional and stress-related issues by giving... helpline support, community information, and referral services to those in need." It is answered by trained volunteer responders.

Tel: +632 8893 7603 (landline)

Tel: +63 919 056 0709 (Smart)

Tel: +63 917 800 1123 (Globe)

Tel: +63 917 108 5412 (Globe)

Hours: "24/7", in the organisation's own words.

Cost: described as a free service on the organisation's own page.

Tawag Paglaum-Centro Bisaya, Cebu and Central Visayas

Tawag Paglaum-Centro Bisaya is a regional service based in Cebu, not a national one. Its numbers are published by Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, the Department of Health's regional hospital in Cebu City, on a poster carrying the Department of Health's seal alongside the hospital's and the service's own. In its own words it is a "24/7 Crisis Intervention and Suicide Helpline".

Tel: 0939-937-5433 (Smart, TNT and Sun)

Tel: 0939-936-5433 (Smart, TNT and Sun)

Tel: 0926-626-4236 (Globe and TM)

Hours: "24/7 Helpline", in the service's own words.

Cost: not published on the page we checked.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 911, or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The NCMH Crisis Hotline and Hopeline both answer around the clock if you need someone to talk to as well.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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