A fishy tale

Batangas governor-actor Vilma Santos assures the public that it is safe to eat any fish -- specially tawilis, a delicacy-- caught on Taal Lake any time of the day. 

In effect, the governor is encouraging fishermen from Batangas and nearby areas to go on catching fish at the famous lake despite reports that sacks of human bones have been found there by authorized divers.

The diving is part of the investigation on whistleblower Julie “Dondon” Patidongan’s claim that the bodies of missing cockfighters were dumped in that fresh-water lake.

Santos had herself shot the video while eating tawilis with rice, the Filipinos’ staple food. Santos had the video posted on her Facebook.

Tawilis is endemic to Taal Lake. Other cultured fish found at the lake are maliputo, tilapia, and bangus.

“Tawilis! Okay, nothing to worry about with all these issues about our Taal,” she proclaimed in the video after eating a spoonful of the sardine.

“Nothing to worry. First of all, the fish there like tilapia and bangus are cultured. They have fish pens, and they are well taken care of. Tawilis is non-carnivorous. It doesn’t eat meat, usually, just water plants,” she intoned.

Actually, authorities have yet to determine whether the remains taken out from the lake belonged to the missing  cockfighters.

The search for bodies on sacks dumped in the lake has been temporarily halted by the Department of Justice due to bad weather conditions. 

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Habitually eating fish caught in safe bodies of water is, of course, very healthy. It’s one of the ways to avoid developing heart ailments, which remain among the Top 10 killer diseases in the Philippines.

There is a senator who is profoundly concerned that Pinoys don’t die from cardiac arrest.

That senator is Lito Lapid who re-filed, this July, his old Senate Bill No. 2474, which mandates the placement of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces like government buildings, offices, courts, schools, public parks and markets.

The bill seeks to help in the survival of patients with heart disease, specifically when they unexpectedly suffer from cardiac arrest. While a CPR and basic chest compressions are staples of most first-aid training, the availability and use of defibrillators (AEDs) is not common in our country.

An AED is a portable, life-saving device designed to treat people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. The AED system includes accessories, such as a battery and pad electrodes that are necessary for the AED to detect and interpret an electrocardiogram and deliver an electric shock. 

The bill mandates that all government buildings, including, but not limited to offices, courts, schools, public parks, markets, airports, seaports, train stations, and other transport terminals, shall be required to place AEDs in their premises.

The placement of AEDs will also be required in private places with high volume of people, either as occupants, workers or visitors thereon, such as hotels, resorts, casinos, malls, condominiums sports and entertainment venues, amusement parks, factories, and similar places.

The Philippine Heart Association (PHA), a nationwide organization of heart doctors, acknowledges Lapid’s deep concern for the Filipinos’ health and longevity

The organization recently held the mass teaching of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) at Nangka High School in collaboration with the Marikina City government.  The lead group for the event was the Council on CPR chaired by Dr. Don Robertspierre Reyes.

Small-scale teaching of CPR and other events about heart health awareness were conducted in the 13 PHA chapters all over the country. For the past 10 years, PHA has been dynamically holding public events to make the people aware of the many ways they can take care of their hearts. 

The PHA has a website and various social media accounts to inform the public about how to protect their hearts and, in effect, their precious lives.