Free CPR training was held on August 14 in Cagayan de Oro through Bell-Kenz Pharma’s Sagip CPR program, in collaboration with the Philippine Heart Association Northwestern Mindanao, PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College, the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, the City Scholars Association in PHINMA COC, and the CDO Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department.
CAGAYAN DE ORO — In a country where heart disease silently claims 317 Filipino lives every single day, a new grassroots movement is stepping up to fight back—not with high-tech machines or advanced hospitals, but with something far simpler: trained hands ready to save a life.
On August 14, the Bell-Kenz Foundation, in partnership with the Philippine Heart Association Northwestern Mindanao, PHINMA Cagayan de Oro College, the City Police Office, and the CDO Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department, launched the Sagip CPR program in Cagayan de Oro. The initiative aims to empower ordinary citizens with the life-saving skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), making sure help is never far away when sudden cardiac arrest strikes.
Heart disease has long topped the country’s list of fatal illnesses. According to the Department of Health, it accounts for nearly one in five Filipino deaths each year. What makes the situation even more alarming is that almost half of these deaths happen suddenly—when the heart simply stops beating. Survival often depends not on doctors or ambulances, but on whoever happens to be standing nearby.
Yet, despite the urgency, only two out of ten Filipinos know how to perform CPR. Studies show that every minute without CPR slashes a person’s chances of survival by 10 percent. Administered quickly, however, hands-only CPR can double or even triple survival rates.
Patrick Larraga – Bell-Kenz Corporate Branding & PR Head; Dr. Orlando Bugarin – Past PHA President; Dr. Francis Lavapie – Past PHA Council on CPR Chairman; Dr. Rodrigo Alenton – Cardiologist at Maria Reyna – Xavier University Hospital and Northern Mindanao Medical Center; and Dr. Alex Junia – Immediate Past President of the ASEAN Federation of Cardiology and Past PHA president.
“CPR is a simple, life-saving skill, but many young Filipinos have never been taught how to do it,” explained Dr. James Cayetano, cardiologist and president of Bell-Kenz Foundation. “Students as early as Grade 5 are already capable of learning it. This program bridges that gap.”
The Sagip CPR program does just that. During its launch, 500 students, police personnel, and civilian volunteers received hands-on training in the Check–Call–Compress method of CPR, as well as proper use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The training deliberately strips CPR down into clear, doable steps—removing the fear and confusion that often paralyze bystanders during emergencies.
The movement is also anchored on a broader national effort. In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Proclamation No. 511, officially declaring July 17 as National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Day. The move underscores a simple but powerful idea: CPR should not be the sole domain of health professionals, but a skill every Filipino carries with them, just like reading or writing.
For cardiologist Dr. Francis Lavapie, who has long championed CPR awareness, Sagip CPR fills a critical gap. “We’ve been teaching CPR for years, but we cannot reach everyone. This program brings training directly to communities that would otherwise be missed.”
Over the next 12 months, Sagip CPR will tour schools, barangays, and civic groups nationwide. Its ambitious goal: to train one million Filipinos to become “CPR-ready.”
The vision is bold but clear—transforming a country where sudden cardiac arrest is often a death sentence into one where every neighborhood, every classroom, every household has someone who knows what to do.
As Dr. Cayetano puts it, “We want CPR to become second nature for Filipinos. Because in the end, survival doesn’t only depend on doctors—it depends on us, on each other.”