Health Secretary Francisco Duque III (Photo by NOY MORCOSO / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The enactment of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act assures the public that the Duterte administration is “serious with its fight against one of the leading causes of death in the country,” according to the Department of Health (DOH).
In a statement issued on Sunday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said: “On Valentines Day, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the said bill into law as a gift to the Filipino people, for women who are more prone to certain types of cancer like breast, cervical, ovarian cancers, and also men for prostate, lung and colorectal cancers.”
READ: Duterte signs Cancer Control Bill into law
“This is to assure the public that the DOH is serious with its fight against one of the leading causes of death in the country. Its lifelong commitment to our constituents is to protect their health and prevent this dreaded disease,” he added.
The new law mandates the adoption of “an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development.”
This approach should include the strengthening of integrative, multidisciplinary, patient, and family-centered cancer control policies, programs, systems, interventions and services at all levels of the existing health care delivery system.”
The law also calls for the establishment of a National Integrated Cancer Control Program to prevent deaths from cancer by providing “affordable and accessible” medical treatment.
According to the Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates of the DOH, childhood cancer causes up to eight deaths per day, while there are 11 new cancer cases and seven cancer deaths per hour among adults.
In a year, the DOH noted, there are 110,000 new cases of cancer and over 66,000 cancer deaths. /atm