MANILA, Philippines – Inihayag ni Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri na inaprubahan ng Senado sa ikatlo at huling pagbasa ang Senate Bill No. 1513, o ang Comprehensive Lupus Prevention Act.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ni Zubiri, pangunahing awtor ng panukala na isa itong landmark measure na naglalayong lumikha ng isang national program para sa prevention, monitoring and treatment ng Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, o mas kilala bilang lupus.
Aniya, ngayong naaprubahan ang panukala, malapit na itong maging batas at mabibigyan ang pasyente at pamilya ng nakatuon na pambansang suporta na kailangan nila.
“I am full of hope. With this measure, we can finally establish a data-driven national plan of action against lupus,” ani Zubiri.
Ipinaliwanag ni Zubiri sa panukala na ang “Lupus is an autoimmune condition where the immune system targets healthy tissues and organs instead of protecting them, and when undiagnosed and untreated, it can lead to serious organ damage, with kidneys being particularly vulnerable.”
Aniya, walang kasalukuyang gamot sa lupus pero ligtas na mapapamahalaan ang sakit sa pamamagitan ng sapat na aruga at planong medical, magkaroon ng early detection at sustained care crucial para sa pasyente upang makapabuhay nang maayos at humaba ang buhay.
“So much of the fear around lupus is in how little we still know about it. We don’t know the cause. We don’t know the actual number of lupus cases in the country. We don’t know the most affected groups. We don’t know what age it begins to manifest. We don’t know what to look out for,” ani Zubiri.
“Most of what we know are anecdotal – stories of friends and family members who suffer from it,” giit niya.
Naunang inamin ni Zubiri na nagkasakitng lupus ang kanyang anak na babae na pawang isang personal na reyalidad na nagtulak sa kanya upang makalikha ng pambansang pagtugon na lampas na watak-watak na kaalamanan at isolated treatment.
“Under the Comprehensive Lupus Prevention Act, the Department of Health (DOH) is directed to implement a National Program for Lupus Prevention and Treatment, which covers awareness campaigns, screening, referral services for proper diagnosis, research and development, best practices and knowledge transfer and support networks for patients and families,” aniya.
Aniya, inaatasan ng batas ng Department of Health na lumikha ng Information and Monitoring System on Lupus, upang matiyak na sapat at tapat ang records ng lupus asa buong bansa.
“With proper information, we can more readily manage lupus on both the individual and the national level,” giit ni Zubiri.
“We can come up with proper policy and direct sufficient resources based on the Information and Monitoring System,” dagdag niya.
Upang magkaroon nang [pantay na screening, inaatasan ng Comprehensive Lupus Prevention Act ang Philippine Health Insurance Corporation 0 PhilHealth na sakupin ang halaga ng lupus screening sa miyembro..
“One of the reasons we know so little about lupus is because of misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis. So we hope to address that by having the PhilHealth shoulder lupus screening costs,” ani Zubiri.
“Napakamahal na sakit po nitong lupus, mula sa testing hanggang sa mga gamot. Kaya malaking bagay na magkaroon tayo ng libreng screening para sa ating mga kababayan, at mula doon, matulungan natin silang makabuo ng abot-kayang treatment plan para sa kanilang kalagayan.” Ernie Reyes
