Senator Raffy Tulfo is pushing for the funding of a local study that seeks to address the limited supply of snake antivenom in rural areas of the country and will also prevent the killing of the Philippine cobra which is considered a threatened species.
During his privilege speech on Tuesday, May 7, Tulfo pointed out that the country is mostly composed of agricultural and rural areas, and highlighted that it is a must that crucial regional hospitals be required to carry antidotes to various venomous animals found in the Philippines, most especially to cobra venom.
"Let us prioritize the funding of research to perform a comprehensive data collection on the health and economic burden of snakebites so that we could develop strategies to address the problem," he said.
Tulfo then asked for the support of Senate Committee on Health and Demography Chairperson Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go.
He disclosed that during his visit to Isabela, he was told that a farmer there died after being bitten by a Philippine Cobra. He was rushed to the hospital but due to the lack of antivenom supply, doctors could not do anything.
"Kahit nag-iingat naman sila at nagsusuot ng bota, may mga pagkakataon talagang hindi mo inaasahan na ikaw ay matutuklaw. Nakakatakot lalo na kung may mga bata din na naglalaro sa mga paligid ng bukid at ng mga masusukal na lugar (Even if they're careful and are wearing boots, there are times they still get bitten. It's concerning considering that there are kids playing around the field and forest areas)," he said.
In February, Tulfo said that a 3-year-old kid died from a Cobra bite inside their bathroom. Out of fear, residents were forced to kill two king cobras.
Tulfo cited a study conducted by the National Center for Bio-technology Information on the Health and Economic Impact of Snakebites in ASEAN countries published in 2022 wherein it states there are about 13,377 snakebite victims per year in the Philippines, with 550 resulting in death, while others are amputated.
However, he questioned the lack of a local study regarding this.
"But with the numbers we have, this is an urgent matter. I immediately filed a resolution for the Committee on Health last April 16 to look into this concern. And I posted this matter on social media to alert the authorities and also to make people aware of the need to be careful about snakebites. Kasi nga wala namang agarang lunas sa lahat ng lugar dito sa Pilipinas (Because there is no immediate cure in every part of the Philippines)," he said.
He mentioned that according to Ruff Vincent Valdevieso, coordinator of the national immunization program of the Department of Health (DOH), the Purified Cobra Antivenom or PCAV can only be acquired from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM which is in Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila.
"Recently, someone I know was waiting for his turn in RITM when suddenly a convoy of police motorbikes and ambulance arrived. Alam niyo po kung ano yun? Isang snakebite victim na nilakbay pa mula sa Lucena papuntang RITM sa Muntinlupa. Maswerte pa po iyong biktima na iyon dahil nabuhay siya (The victim was lucky to survive)," he said.
"Madami po ang hindi kasing swerte sa availability at resources ng kanilang LGU. Usually po ang snakebite ay nakakamatay na after 30 minutes from being bitten, depende sa kamandag at sa dami ng venom na pumasok sa katawan (But a lot more are not so lucky because of the availability and resources of their LGU. Usually a snakebite is fatal after 30 minutes of being bitten, depending on the venom and the amount of venom that entered the body)," he added.
He said that RITM is the one that supplies the antivenom and that it depends on the hospital if they will purchase it. Tulfo added that if they purchase and there’s no snakebite incident, then it is a loss for the hospital and stated that this is also the report that came from a health forum in Cebu on why there's no available antivenom in hospitals.
"That is why we have to know the demand for antivenom so that we can maximize the limited supply of antivenom in our country," he said.
"This is a public health concern that we must address. It is very elitist that this matter is not given importance just because, we, in the metropolitan do not feel the burden of snakebites," he added.
Tulfo pointed out that if the government can ensure that there are antivenom supplies in crucial regions of the Philippines, and there are trained personnel in the health centers that could diagnose the snakebite victim and administer the antivenom, then there would be no need to kill these threatened cobra species.
"We cannot punish our people for defending themselves when we do not even give them protection," he said.