The Philippine Heart Association Davao (PHA Davao)–Southern Mindanao Chapter launched on Friday an ambitious initiative to create “CPR-Ready Barangays” across Davao City, highlighting the urgency of rapid response in cases of sudden cardiac arrest.
In his keynote speech, Dr. Erwin Ybañez, President of PHA Davao-Southern Mindanao, stressed the importance of equipping ordinary citizens with life-saving skills.
“Cardiac arrest does not send a warning. It does not wait for an ambulance. It does not wait for a cardiologist. And it does not wait for permission. When the heart suddenly stops, survival is measured not in hours but in seconds. In those seconds, the most important person is not the specialist in the hospital. It is the bystander — the teacher, the barangay health worker, the tricycle driver, the parent, the youth leader,” Ybanez said during the launch of the chapter’s 2026–2027 flagship programs and induction of officers at Seda Abreeza.
The CPR-Ready Barangays program is part of the chapter’s broader 2026–2027 initiatives, which also include improving access to cardiologists and promoting heart-healthy lifestyles.
“Kung ready ang isang barangay dito sa Davao, imagine kung paano ma-save yung buhay kung marunong yung isang barangay health worker, yung nanay, yung tatay, kasi ang heart pag nag-stop, every second counts,” Ybanez added in an interview.
The program will coordinate with the City Government of Davao, which has 182 barangays, to determine priorities and logistics.
“Yung CPR-Ready, we’ve been preparing for that. This is the first time we will actually implement it, kaya dapat pagplanuhin talaga siya-how to choose the barangay, the logistics-everything we have to study carefully,” said Jocelyn Mantilla, Vice President of PHA Davao.
Under the initiative, training will be conducted in community health units, schools, private institutions, and civic organizations.
“Beyond seminars, it aims to build a culture of readiness: every barangay has trained responders, every public event has someone capable of performing CPR, every school graduate knows how to save a life. Communities understand that emergency response begins with them. A CPR-Ready Barangay means that when someone collapses, no one panics-someone acts. Survival is no longer determined by distance from a hospital. Ordinary citizens become extraordinary lifesavers,” Ybanez explained.
He emphasized that the program is not just a health initiative but also a tool for empowerment, preparedness, and shared responsibility.
“The strongest healthcare system is not defined only by its hospitals. It is defined by how prepared its communities are before the ambulance arrives. When Southern Mindanao becomes CPR-ready, we send a powerful message: in our region, we do not stand helpless when a heart stops. We stand ready,” he said.
The chapter also unveiled other key programs: “One Cardiologist for Every City” that aims to strengthen PHA chapters, establish subchapters, and provide mentorship and global training for cardiology fellows of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC); and “PHA PUSO MUNA, Sneakers Friday & Fit Heart Minute” that aims to promote healthy lifestyles to reduce obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk factors.
The PHA highlighted the urgent need for such programs in a country where 13 Filipinos die every hour from heart disease, totaling over 300 deaths daily.
The PHA stressed that the Philippines faces a critical shortage of cardiologists, with only 2,550 specialists for 112 million people, a ratio of one cardiologist for every 44,000 Filipinos wherein over half are concentrated in Metro Manila, leaving provincial communities with limited access to specialized care and long travel times for treatment.
