Last Saturday evening, “Burabod” writer Efren “ETASOR” Sorra passed away in the loving embrace of his children.
His death at 84 came just four days after he directed the Neo-Catechumenate’s presentation at the annual Christmas Cheers at Plaza Rizal on Dec. 26.
To many who had known him as the Catandunganon legend in theater, the arts and literature, that the “Omboy sa Sabsaban” was his curtain call came as a shock.
It was not a secret to his followers via his regular Tribune feature that he had survived COVID-19 and began twice-weekly dialysis sessions since last year.
ETASOR was one of the many Catandunganons suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) benefited by the Cua administration’s initiative to put up a hemodialysis center, first at the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital (JMAMDH) in San Andres and later at the Eastern Bicol Medical Center (EBMC) in the capital town.
For a decade before Governor Joseph Cua actively pushed for the establishment of the center, CKD patients had to endure sea travel to the mainland and spend a lot of money just to keep themselves alive.
Now, the provincial government should do a bit more for its constituents, especially those who have diabetes and hypertension.
Last Dec. 19, 2023, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AstraZeneca Philippines on the implementation of the ACT NOW (Addressing Complications Today through Network of Warriors) program in 12 provinces of the country.
Other signatories were Diabetes Philippines, Philippine Association of Diabetes Educators (PADE) and Association of Diabetes Nurse Educators of the Philippines (ADNEP), and the 12 target provinces where ACT NOW will be implemented initially.
The ACT NOW Program aims to fight cardio-renal complications of diabetes and hypertension, and create further awareness on CKD through risk factor identification and early screening.
Under the MOU, each of the 12 provinces will receive a uACR (Urine Albumin Creatinine Ratio Test) machine which is an integral tool in CKD screening and prevention.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said that one uACR machine will be serving 20,000 patients and in the 12 provinces of Aurora, Sorsogon, Agusan Del Sur, Samar, Iloilo, Cebu, Quezon, Cavite, Zamboanga Del Norte, Sarangani, and Quirino, the machines will serve over 1 million Filipinos.
Current statistics indicate a 46% increase in the number of Filipino patients with CKD, with PhilHealth spending P17 billion on dialysis treatment alone, Abalos said.
With the MOU signing, there are now a total of 18 sites all over the country that gives Filipinos greater access to free risk assessment, micral, and uACR tests, which detect the presence of albumine in the urine – one of the earliest indicators of kidney disease.
The fight against CKD is won through early detection and prevention, as the DILG chief emphasized, and by signing up with the ACT NOW Program, the Cua administration will ensure that its constituents who are at risk will triumph against the life-threatening disease.