Senator Angara wants CPR training as graduation requirement

Pamela Rauseo, 37, performs CPR on her nephew, five-month-old Sebastian de la Cruz, who suffered a medical emergency in Florida. The CPR application helped save the baby who was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he reportedly did okay. AP

A bill that seeks to require all public and private basic education schools in the country to provide their students with at least one training session in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been filed in the Senate.

In filing Senate Bill 3016, Senator Sonny Angara pointed out the statement of international health experts that “a victim’s survival doubles when CPR is administered as it helps maintain vital blood flow to the heart and brain, and decreases the amount of time that an electric shock which causes cardiac arrest can be effective.”

READ: Yeng Guiao’s CPR training bill ‘to make lifesavers out of youth’

“We must instill health consciousness among Filipinos, and ensure that we are equipped with the necessary knowledge and basic skills to respond to certain health emergencies,” Angara said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under the bill, CPR training program, developed by the Philippine Heart Association or the Philippine National Red Cross using “nationally recognized and evidence-based guidelines for emergency cardiovascular care and psychomotor training,” will be part of the school’s comprehensive health and physical education curriculum.

“There is a need for us to increase our knowledge of CPR as a life-saving skill even among ordinary citizens, and training more than five million able-bodied youth is a big step towards this goal,” said the senator.

READ: Thousands die of cardiac arrest because witnesses do not know CPR, say doctors

The proposed measure also mandates schools to make CPR training a requisite prior to graduation.

Under the bill, the school principal or administrator should coordinate with the Department of Health for its assistance in providing competent instructors for the school’s CPR training program.

“We should consider the benefits and the countless lives that can be saved if we train our youth with CPR,” Angara added.