Cardiologists seek law mandating AEDs in public spaces

The Philippine Heart Association (PHA) on Tuesday called on lawmakers to expedite legislation that would allocate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places, such as government facilities and schools.

In a forum, PHA President Dr. Ronald Cuyco emphasized that AEDs should be in tandem with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in order save lives of those suffering from cardiac arrest.

An AED is a portable device that helps those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. It is used to counteract fibrillation of the heart muscle and restore normal heartbeat by delivering a brief electric shock to the heart.

“We are praying that this gadget should be available and will be available in public places. That’s what we’re pushing in the Congress. Hopefully, a lot of people will help us, even convince the executive branch to support this,” Cuyco said.

In the Philippines, there is already a CPR Law (Republic Act 10871), seeking to make lifesavers out of the youth by making CPR training part of the basic education curriculum. However, bills on mandating AEDs in public areas remain stuck in Congress.

At the House of Representatives, several measures have been filed, including House Bill No. 1393 and 7783 that would require the provision of AEDs in places open to the public like schools, workplaces, government offices, and similar establishments.

A counterpart measure was also filed in the Senate in 2022 during the 18th Congress, but remained pending at the committee level.

Pending the law, Malasakit at Bayanihan Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. recommended the PHA to encourage President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to sign an executive order to institutionalize the placement of AEDs in these public places to help save more lives.

He said that the PHA could further suggest adding AEDs in public hospitals and barangay health centers, depending on the budget that could be allocated for such.

“When you have that, then it means to say that it’s a priority of this government and the chances of having a Republic Act will be higher,” Golez said.

The PHA welcomed the recommendation of the congressman, vowing to be proactive in pursuing other alternatives to push their advocacy.

Cuyco said that he is also constantly lobbying to start the deliberations on the said measure in the Senate to the office of Senator Bong Go, who chairs the Committee on Health and Demography.

Ischaemic heart disease or cardiovascular disease remains to be the number one killer of Filipinos, with a total of 100,848 cases recorded from January to November 2023.

This accounted for 19% percent of the total deaths in the Philippines, based on data by the Philippine Statistics Authority.—RF, GMA Integrated News