BAGUIO CITY — A proposed city ordinance in Baguio seeks to require all establishments in the mountain resort city to be equipped with life-support systems and have all their staff trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“The ordinance seeks to mandate government and private establishments to supply, maintain, and make available an Automated External Defibrillator (AED ) device in cases of emergencies,” Baguio City Councilor Elmer Datuin, the proponent of the ordinance, said Friday.
An AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses a life-threatening heart condition.
Datuin, who is also chairman of the committee on tourism of the city council, said Friday his proposal, which is now on second reading, would be an add-on benefit for the thousands of visitors flocking to Baguio all year round.
He said the requirement will allow establishments in the city to readily respond to emergencies like a heart attack.
“It will be an advantage of the city if most of our residents and business establishment owners know how to administer CPR. We are at least guaranteed that we will have an automatic response in the event of a cardio problem,” he said.
Datuin said he wishes to see Baguio as the only CPR-ready city by the year 2021 and the first local government unit in the Philippines to have tourist areas that are CPR-ready, with everyone in the city knowing how to respond to emergency situation any time, anywhere.
Datuin’s proposal emanated from the pushing of the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), which has a massive nationwide campaign to teach people to perform CPR.
Such advocacy came after former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) superstar Samboy Lim had experienced during a friendly basketball game at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City in 2014. His condition allegedly worsened because he was not given a CPR before he was brought to the hospital and that there were no emergency responders to provide pre-hospital care.
Last year, the PHA conducted its Baguio leg of CPR training, which was attended by about a thousand students, professionals, housewives, teachers, and emergency response volunteers.
The city government aims to partner with the PHA-Baguio chapter in ensuring the safety of the locals and tourists.
“We will be probably the first city in the Philippines to be designated by the Philippine Hearts Association as ‘life support system compliant city’,” Datuin said.
He added the CPR training would also include small establishments and other tourism stakeholders, so they would have certification from the PHA.
Datuin said that even prior to the entry of the PHA, the city tourism office has been holding tourist-oriented seminars for all stakeholders at city parks, and these include CPR training. (Pamela Mariz Geminiano/PNA)
