SENATOR Sonny Angara has urged all private and public schools to include in their curriculum the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training.
Angara is the principal author of Republic Act 10871, known as the “Samboy Lim Law,” which aims to make lifesavers out of the Filipino youth.
“Everyone can be a lifesaver, including our youth. All it takes is training, and the schools are the best venue to equip students with the lifesaving skills,” the senator said.
Angara lauded the Department of Health for leading mass demonstrations of hands-only CPR in time for the National Disaster Resilience Month.
The DoH aims to educate the local government units on hands-only CPR to equip them during calamities and disasters.
Studies have shown that the survival rate of a victim doubles when CPR is administered. It is an emergency procedure applied when someone’s heart stopped beating to help keep and maintain the blood flow to the heart and brain.
The legislation was introduced after PBA legend Samboy Lim suffered a heart attack in 2014 during an exhibition game.
Physicians who attended to him later said that his recovery would have been better had CPR been administered within three minutes after the heart attack.
“Equipping our youth with the necessary knowledge and basic skills to respond to certain health emergencies can save lives. We instill in their consciousness not only the importance of being healthy but also the importance of saving lives,” Angara said.
RA 10871 mandates schools nationwide to incorporate CPR in their curriculum and make it a compulsory requirement prior to graduation.
