• THERESA MAE DULMAN
A diverse community sector gathered at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby Oct. 22, to learn life-saving hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills through the “Sagip-CPR” training program.
The mass training session, a flagship health initiative organized by Bell-Kenz Pharma, in partnership with the Bacolod city government, brought together senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), solo parents, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, barangay personnel, and frontline workers.
Riverside Medical Center cardiologist, Dr. Jose Joel Yap, emphasized the critical importance of widespread CPR readiness, noting that brain damage or death can occur within minutes of cardiac arrest before emergency medical responders can arrive.
“In every household, there should be at least one person trained in CPR, who can pass those skills on to other family members,” Yap said.
He stressed the need to make the Philippines CPR-ready alongside neighboring nations in Southeast Asia, and highlighted the importance of Republic Act 10871, or the Basic Life Support Training in Schools Act.
Patrick Larraga, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs head of Bell-Kenz Pharma, said the initiative aligns with the company’s advocacy on cardiovascular health.
He noted that the company has conducted 65 “Sagip-CPR” rollouts from north to south nationwide since August last year, to empower communities to respond effectively to health emergencies.
“The Sagip-CPR is a flagship advocacy of Bell-Kenz Pharma. We have been going around the Philippines training and reaching out to communities, LGUs, schools, athletes, and Coast Guards. We have been training all sorts of people from all walks of life in hands-only CPR, a simple skill vital to life,” Larraga said.
Bell-Kenz noted that more than 60,000 Filipinos have already been trained in proper CPR techniques through nationwide health initiatives. | TMD
