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

Yeng Guiao. PBA Images

The House of Representatives has approved a bill requiring students in both public and private schools to undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training at least once before graduation.

Authored by Pampanga representative and Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, House Bill No. 5891 sought to improve the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims by equipping the youth with proper knowledge on how to conduct CPR.

READ: House passes coach Yeng Guiao’s ‘Samboy Lim’ bill

“We want to make lifesavers out of the youth of today by giving them the training that will make them confident to step up when the need arises,” Guiao said.

Guiao named the bill after former Philippine Basketball Association star Samboy Lim, who fell into a coma and spent more than two months in the hospital after suffering a heart attack during an exhibition game.

READ: Samboy Lim now ‘out of coma, shows emotions’ | Samboy Lim back home, elated over child’s tests

During Lim’s collapse, it could be remembered that not even one among more than 20 people around him knew what to do or how to conduct a proper CPR.

“I would like to call this the Samboy Lim bill in honor of the PBA superstar … whose fate became the impetus for the filing of the proposal,” Guiao said.

Citing studies which showed that bystander CPR could double or triple chances of cardiac arrest survival, Guiao said he was hoping the bill would be passed into law before the Congress adjourned for the 2016 elections.

Guiao added that countries like Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, and some parts of the United States had mandated CPR training in schools. Yuji Gonzales/RC