PHA calls on nat’l gov’t to implement CPR Act
MARIKINA CITY, METRO MANILA, JULY 17, 2025 - Nine years after its passage, the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) called on the national and local governments to implement RA 10871 or CPR Law, which mandates all public and private schools to incorporate aged-appropriate basic life support training in the high school curriculum. Nicknamed Samboy Lim Law, the CPR Act was enacted on July 17, 2016.
The call was made by Dr. Don Robespierre Reyes, PHA Council on CPR chair during the National CPR Day celebration at the Nangka High School in Marikina, the central site of this year’s celebraton.
“Mababawasan na iyong tinatawag nating mortality—‘yung namamatay dahil sa cardiac arrest. Kasi it can happen to everyone, kahit sino pwede, dapat healthy ka. Kaya malaking tulong na ‘yung CPR Law ay implement na ng Department of Education,” said Reyes.
Dr. Reyes, PHA Council on CPR Chair
In March 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared July 17 every year as National CPR Day institutionalizing the date as an annual nationwide observance.
Cardiac arrest, a heart health emergency can happen anytime, anywhere. Reyes stressed: “globally, out of 10 cardiac arrest cases, most likely, only one will survive due to the following factors: lack of emergency responders and absence of an emergency medical system, most especially is developing countries like the Philippines.”
This year’s National CPR Day theme “ZapPinas 2025: First Responder Team, sa CPR Win na Win! CPR Ready Na Ba Ang Barangay Mo?” marks a pivotal shift, which now echoes throughout the cities up to the barangays: focused group including teachers, firefighters, policemen, barangay health workers, and tanod, who do field work, are potential first witnesses to emergencies should be trained as lifesavers.
PHA President Dr. Walid Amil said: “Through ZapPinas 2025, we are building a generation of CPR heroes, mula sa mga kabataan hanggang sa mga frontliners. Let us continue to empower our Filipinos to take action, respond, and to save lives.”
Dr. Amil, PHA President
The face-to-face event was a simultaneous Usapang Puso sa Puso webinar livestreamed via PHA Facebook. There were live field reports from PHA-accredited training institutions, PHA chapters, PHA-accredited training providers, spotlighting on-the-ground CPR efforts from Luzon to Mindanao.
CPR-Ready PH is 10 years old
One year before the passage of RA 10871, the PHA launched the CPR-ReadyPH Campaign on July 2015. With the Department of Health (DOH) as its pioneering ally, the campaign earned a network of partners that brought CPR education to cities or towns, putting priority on popular travel destinations: resorts or hotels; public and private schools; military camps; public parks; Senate of the Philippines; media offices, etc.
Actor-politician Richard Gomez, CPR-ReadyPH Ambassador since 2017, remains at the forefront. In 2019, during his tenure as mayor, Ormoc City became CPR-Ready.
As a Congressman, Gomez has been a constant CPR advocate same with Sen. Lito Lapid. Both lawmakers filed the AED Bill (AEDs in Public Places and Spaces) in 2022 and refiled the same bill in 2025.
The PHA has come relatively far, but it should go farther. CPR and AEDs should not be considered as a privilege, but part of the Philippine culture of preparedness which includes putting the Emergency Medical System in place.
CPR saves lives, anyone can be a lifesaver
Over 300 participants: teachers, students, firefighters, tanods, policemen, reporters participated in the National CPR Day in Nangka High School, Marikina City on Thursday, July 17, 2025.
PTV 4 Rise and Shine
PHA Council on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Chair Dr. Reyes, talking about the value of learning and doing early (between 4-7 minutes) bystander or hands-only CPR, to save lives; Lizst Torres Abello demonstrating Hands-Only CPR
CPR Quiz Bowl draws 15 prestigious science schools
The ever-evolving PHA Code Blue 3rd CPR Quiz Bowl held on National CPR Day celebration raised the bar for CPR awareness among the young, challenging students from 15 NCR Science High School to go deeper.
It drew top-performing students from different high schools. Despite the threat of heavy rains, they eagerly showed up, proving their competence and commitment to be constant CPR-ReadyPH advocates. The growing number of participating schools each year is an indicator of the PHA Council on CPR’s impact among the youth.
PHA Council on CPR Advocacy Arm Head Dr. Jeannica Lerios dela Pena said: “Mayroong mga estudyante mula sa Metro Manila para ipakita ang kanilang mga kaalaman hindi lang sa chest compressions but beyond that, so ang ating youth ay talagang narerealize na nila ang importansya ng CPR.
Emerging as the champion this year was Las Piñas City National Science High School, followed by Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science in second place, and Marikina Science High School securing third.
A brainchild of the PHA Council on CPR, the quiz bowl is beyond learning about proper hands-only chest compressions, but understanding basic information on how the heart’s electrical impulse can malfunction and come to a halt.
Through this pioneering group’s regular involvement in the CPR-ReadyPh Campaign and CPR Quiz Bowl, they are infecting more students with their “CPR-ReadyPH itch.
Each participating school had 3 to 5 representatives. These were: Caloocan City Science High School; Las Piñas City National Science High School; Malabon City National Science and Mathematics High School; Quezon City Science High School; Muntinlupa Science High School; Paranaque Science High School; Pasay City National Science High School; Pasig City Science High School; Taguig Science High School; Makati Science High School; Sen. Rene Companero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School; Marikina Science High School; Navotas National Science High School; National Housing Corporation High School; and Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science.
The Medical City: Top CPR-ReadyPH advocate
The Medical City (TMC) has kept its reputation as the number one CPR-ReadyPH and Mass CPR -ally of the PHA since 2016.
This time, it did an extensive free CPR training across multiple locations. In the morning alone, TMC mobilized 14 training sites — spanning 13 municipalities in Rizal province, engaging hundreds of community members, health workers, and volunteers in hands-on CPR drills.
The initiative continued into the afternoon, with CPR sessions in Pasig and Valle Verde. This large-scale effort is part of the TMC and PHA’s shared mission to build CPR-ready barangays, towns, and cities by equipping and empowering ordinary citizens to be CPR- ready.
By decentralizing life-saving education and targeting all potential first responders, the CPR-ReadyPH Campaign gets a major boost.
TMC: Top CPR-ReadyPH advocate
