President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. proclaimed 17 July of every year as a “National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Day.” 

In a news release on Saturday, the Presidential Communications Office said Marcos signed the two-page Proclamation No. 511 on 27 March “to instill and promote a national health awareness campaign in every Filipino household.”

Citing the proclamation, PCO said that Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) “is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including heart attack or near drowning.”  

Marcos, in his proclamation, stressed that “there is a need to instill and continuously promote health consciousness among Filipinos by equipping them with the necessary information, knowledge, behavior, and skills to respond to health emergencies, including bringing CPR in every home as an emergency procedure.”

Under the President’s proclamation, the Department of Health (DOH) is tasked to lead the planning, preparation, coordination, organization, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the initiatives and programs of the annual observance of National CPR Day. 

Marcos also directed all government agencies and other instrumentalities to actively participate in the observance of the National CPR Day while non-government organizations and the private sectors are encouraged to do the same.