A pro-administration lawmaker on Saturday pushed for the passage of a bill creating the Philippine Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology to enable the government to fight against the so-called silent killer disease—diabetes.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, author of House Bill 7861, said the creation of the PCDE is necessary for the country to have primary institution in the treatment of an estimated five million Filipino diabetics.
In filing the bill, Villafuerte said the proposed PCDE, which will be under the Department of Health, shall serve as the lead tertiary-level center in the screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes in the country.
“While diabetes is generally preventable and treatable, it has grown into a silent and fatal disease that has “cost our people and this government so much in healthcare expenses,” said Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committees on appropriations, and local government.
Citing data, Villafuerte said among the countries in the Western Pacific region, the Philippines ranks fifth—behind China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand—in the number of diabetics. This makes the Philippines an official diabetes hotspot, he said.
“This bills target the prevention of certain types of diabetes, and its early detection to reduce the number of affected individuals and to provide treatment as soon as possible. It also seeks to provide support to diabetics and their loved ones in coping with this disease,” he added.
Under the measure, the PCDE shall also ensure that there is an organized, comprehensive, and optimal system of care and treatment for patients with diabetes and other endocrine problems among hospitals and other medical institutions in the country, he said.
Villafuerte said the PCDE is also authorized to design programs that “shall promote, encourage and engage in medical and scientific research on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and other endocrine diseases and gather, compile, and publish the findings of such researches for public dissemination.”
The National Nutrition and Health Survey showed that the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the Philippines for the last 10 years has grown from 3.9 percent to 17.8 percent, or by nearly 20 percent, which means that one out of every five Filipinos could potentially have diabetes mellitus or pre-diabetes.
“If nothing is done to stem the alarming trend, the prevalence of diabetes is expected to soar to 20 percent by the year 2045, and more than 100,000 Filipinos would be dying every year arising from its complications,” Villafuerte said.
“While the disease is emotionally taxing to patients and their families, it is also a massive financial burden to the government,” he added.
Last year, PhilHealth spent around P8 billion to assist patients undergoing dialysis, the majority of whom were diabetics.