ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Metro Manila devider Man with heart condition dies during cash aid distribution in Malolos

Man with heart condition dies during cash aid distribution in Malolos

Published Jul 13, 2025 02:19 pm

At A Glance

  • According to Dr. Cris Carlo Pedrosa, an internal medicine specialist at BMC, the man's cause of death was acute coronary syndrome.
A 40-year-old man with a heart condition died while waiting for the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) aid distributed by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) in Malolos, Bulacan on Saturday, July 12.
Responders attend to a man who collapses during the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) aid distribution at the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos City. (Photo courtesy of PDRRMO)
Responders attend to a man who collapses during the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) aid distribution at the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos City. (Photo courtesy of PDRRMO)
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) identified the man as Walfredo Catajan Jr., an ECT beneficiary and a resident of Barangay Sto. Niño, Hagonoy, Bulacan.
The provincial government of Bulacan and the PSWDO extended their deepest condolences to the family of Catajan Jr.
According to responders, Catajan suddenly felt unwell at around 10:40 a.m. while seated in the priority lane during the ongoing ECT distribution.
He was immediately brought to the Bulacan Medical Center (BMC), where doctors administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Despite undergoing suction, intubation, electrocardiogram (ECG), and other vital procedures, he was declared dead at 11:05 a.m.
According to Dr. Cris Carlo Pedrosa, an internal medicine specialist at BMC, the cause of death was acute coronary syndrome.
This was also confirmed by Catajan’s siblings in an interview, who said he had a pre-existing heart condition.
The PSWDO emphasized that the tragic incident was unforeseen and reiterated that the primary goal of every program under Governor Daniel Fernando is to provide immediate assistance to Bulakenyos, especially those in need.
Following the incident, the PSWDO said it would carry out future distributions with heightened caution and vigilance for the safety of all ECT beneficiaries.
Door-to-door distribution
Meanwhile, several netizens expressed frustration on social media, blaming the government for the incident.
Many called for a door-to-door distribution system to prevent vulnerable individuals from enduring long queues.
They also said that door-to-door distribution would help authorities to better assess a family’s real situation to prevent favoritism and discrimination.
“Marami kasing mga kapus-palad na karapat-dapat makatanggap ng mga ayuda, subalit kahit maghapon na silang nakapila ay walang natanggap na ayuda dahil hindi daw nakalista (There are many underprivileged individuals who deserve to receive assistance, yet even after queuing the whole day, they received nothing because they were allegedly not on the list),” a netizen said.

Related Tags

metro news
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.