KALINGA Party-list Rep. Irene Gay Saulog filed a measure that aims to make basic life support as part of the curriculum in basic education.

House Bill 6613 or the proposed First Responder in the Family Act of 2023 mandates the training, development and institutionalization of Basic Life Support and CPR in Grade 12 or its equivalent in senior high school.

The measure also seeks the creation of a committee for the formulation of a standard program to be part of the curriculum.

One of the aims of the bill is to have all households have their trained first aid responder.

“Every year it is estimated that around 50 percent of deaths in the Philippines caused by cardiovascular diseases happend as sudden cardiac arrest, and these cases were mostly witnessed by a family member outside of hospital or any medical facility,” Saulog said in her explanatory note.

“Only four to six percent of these sudden cardiac arrest cases survive due to the fact that majority of those who witness the same do not know how to perform CPR,” the lawmaker said.