More than 1,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary members, barangay health workers, local government personnel and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel joined a life-saving emergency response training in Cebu City on Tuesday, July 15, as part of an initiative to expand cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education across the country.
The activity marked the launch of the Sagip CPR Nautical Highway, a program that aims to bring CPR training closer to communities located along major sea routes, transport hubs, ports and tourist destinations.
Organizers chose Cebu as the starting point of the initiative due to its role as a major center for shipping, trade and tourism in the Philippines.
Bell-Kenz Pharma Corporate Branding and Public Affairs Head Patric Larraga said Cebu’s strategic location made it an ideal launch site for the program, which forms part of the company’s broader Sagip CPR movement that seeks to train one million Filipinos in CPR.
“So that’s why we’ve chosen to launch it, and I would think the heart of the Philippines, which is Cebu, central to the Visayan Islands and to the rest of the country, also a very important hub for shipping, trade, tourism,” Larraga said.
Larraga said the company has trained around 55,000 people during the first year of the advocacy through activities conducted in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, including communities in Bicol, Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo and South Cotabato.
He said expanding the program would require partnerships with various sectors to reach more communities, particularly those outside major urban areas.
The training introduced participants to heart health awareness, Hands-Only CPR and the proper use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), with the goal of enabling ordinary citizens to provide immediate assistance during cardiac emergencies before medical responders arrive.
Coast Guard District Central Visayas Commander Agapito Bibat said the program strengthens emergency preparedness in areas connected by transportation routes.
“The Sagip CPR Nautical Highway elevates transport corridors into channels for spreading life-saving knowledge, enabling more trained Filipinos as first responders,” Bibat said.
Rear Admiral Roben N. De Guzman, commander of the Coast Guard Civil Relations Service, said the partnership supports the Philippine Coast Guard’s efforts to promote life-saving skills among the public.
He said PCG personnel are already required to undergo basic life support training as part of their duty to protect communities and respond to emergencies.
“With this partnership, mas lumawag po ang aming reach and of course visibility sa taong bayan,” De Guzman said.
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said the initiative showed the importance of cooperation among local governments, national agencies and private organizations in creating safer communities.
The Sagip CPR Nautical Highway is part of the Sagip CPR movement, which aims to train one million Filipinos in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The program also coincides with the celebration of Bell-Kenz Pharma’s 20th anniversary this year.
National CPR Day is observed every July 17 under Republic Act 10871, which requires public and private high schools to provide age-appropriate CPR training.
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