By Charissa Luci-Atienza Bohol Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado is proposing the establishment of a Lung Center of the Philippines in Bohol and Davao to bring quality and specialized medical services and research closer to lung-related disease patients in the Visayas and Mindanao. He filed House Bill No. 5331 seeking to amend Sections 1 and 4 of the Presidential Decree No. 1823, which created the Lung Center of the Philippines. He said for several decades, respiratory diseases have been the priority concern, having been one of the leading causes of illness and death in the country. “According to Philippines Statistics Authority’s data, around 66 Filipinos die every minute or around 1,591 per day. Leading causes of death are ischemic heart disease and cancer among the top two followed by pneumonia in the third spot,” Aumentado said. He noted that out of 582, 183 registered deaths in 2016, 74, 134 cases or 12.7 percent of the total was due to ischemic heart disease, cancer logged 60, 470 cases or 10.4 percent, while pneumonia logged 57, 809 cases or 9.9 percent both for male and female. “Pneumonia is the infection of both lungs, it claims the lives of approximately 57,000 Filipinos every year,” he said. Aumentado, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, noted that Presidential Decree No. 1823 created the Lung Center of the Philippines on January 16, 1981 to provide the Filipino people state-of-the-art specialised care for lung and other respiratory diseases. "The Center was inaugurated on January 23, 1982 as a tertiary level hospital with the view of anticipated health problems of respiratory in nature on national coverage as a coordinated effort of the Ministry of Health, other government agencies, and the private sector committed to health,” he said. He said with his proposal, Lung Center’s services will be made available to all Filipinos countrywide. “In general, patients from Visayas and Mindanao will benefit from the establishment of these hospital facilities since they will not be burdened with additional expenses when they seek treatment at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City,” Aumentado said. House Bill 5311 provides that the Lung Center of the Philippines shall establish and maintain three hospital facilities—one in Luzon which shall be located in the National Capital Region (NCR), one for the Visayas to be located in Bohol, and one in Mindanao to be located in Davao City. The bill provides a P1-billion funding for the operation and maintenance of each hospital facilities of the Lung Center of the Philippines, including the land acquisition of hospital equipment, furniture, fixtures, and personnel. "Thereafter, the necessary amount to support the continued operation and maintenance of the facilities shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act for the continued implementation of this Act and shall be released subject to the approval of the President,” it said. The measure tasks the Board of Trustees to formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed Act.