Eight lawmakers are pushing for the establishment of a National Cancer Institute of the Philippines, hoping to address or at least minimize the third leading cause of death in the country.
“Cancer is afflicting some 189 per 100,000 Filipinos. It kills about 105 victims a day or four deaths per hour,” stressed the authors of about six similar bills now under consideration by the House Committee on Government Reorganization.
These bills are: 1) HB 181 filed by Rep. Gustavo S. Tambunting; 2) HB 1782 by Buhay Party-list Reps. Mariano Michael Velarde Jr., Lito Atienza, Jr., and Irwin C. Tieng; 3) HB 2077 authored by Rep. Georgina P. De Venecia; 4) HB 3384 by Rep. Mark A. Villar; 5) HB 3765 filed by Rep. Hermina B. Roman; and 6) HB 5321 by AngNars Party-list Rep. Leah S. Paquiz.
Paquiz, a registered nurse noted that the top cancer sites in the country, according to the Department of Health, include cancers of the lung/larynx, liver, cervix and colon/rectum/stomach.
“These are cancers whose major causes are known and where action can therefore be taken for primary prevention. For example, anti-smoking campaign for cancer of the lung/larynx, vaccination against hepatitis B virus for cancer of the liver, safe sex for cancer of the cervix, and a healthy diet for cancer of the colon/rectum/stomach. Except for liver cancer, the top Philippine cancer sites are also the top cancer sites worldwide,” Paquiz stressed.
Tambunting noted that the 15th Congress approved in the committee level HB 5368 which sought to create a National Cancer Institute of the Philippines; hence, he said “this bill (HB 181) was filed to continue the advocacy for cancer prevention, detection and treatment.
De Venecia stressed the need for the centralization of planning, programs, and activities related to the prevention, screening, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
“The centralization will apply as well to the conduct of research related to malignant diseases, the assignment or distribution of such research activities and the dissemination or application of beneficial research results,” De Venecia explained.
Three Buhay Party-list representatives Velarde, Atienza and Tieng noted that despite the worrisome statistics on cancer, “there is no specialized care for all cancer patients in the Philippines.”
“Although there are several specialized hospital with complete facilities for cancer patients, the same are concentrated or centralized in Metro Manila primarily catering to the needs of the National Capital region which is just one of the regions with the highest cases of cancer,” they lamented.
Another notable bill is that of Villar who, like his colleagues, is pushing for the establishment of a network of regional cancer centers to make specialized health services more accessible to people outside highly urbanized areas and cities like Cebu and Davao where cancer treatment is traditionally available.
Villar stressed the need for said centers to reduce costs, provide a comprehensive view of the cancer-afflicted sectors, and enable a more appropriate assignment of priorities on programs/activities/fund allocation.
Another lady-lawmaker, Roman, stressed to allow appropriate access to information pertaining to the prevention of cancer and, if already afflicted by the disease, to seek specialized treatment and palliative care at reduced costs.
Roman, citing a World health Organization report, explained that “it is safe to conclude that if developing countries like the Philippines would establish organized and sustained specialized care and preventive measures against cancer, there is a good chance that the disease could be effectively controlled.”