ROXAS City – The Capiz Provincial Board recently approved a local legislation granting employees of the provincial government a one day leave with pay for donating blood.
Gov. Fredenil H. Castro said Provincial Ordinance No. 377, the first-ever blood program-related law in the province, is expected to boost the voluntary blood donation program.
Ketch Armiza, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) – Capiz chapter blood donor recruitment officer, said the privilege will introduce the importance of blood donation and increase the blood donor recruitment rate especially among provincial government officials and employees.
“We will also showcase the ordinance to other local government units to encourage them to adopt similar policies which can further strengthen the advocacy in other parts of the country,” Armiza added.
The PRC is waiting for the implementing rules and regulations to properly put in place the guidelines of the ordinance.
He said the ordinance, authored by Philippine Councilors League – Capiz Chapter president and ex-officio Board Member Paul Ivan Baticados, will be showcased during the Sandugo Awards in July.
The measure was also made possible through the blood champion advocates like PRC Board of Director and Capiz’s Vice Gov. James Magbanua as well as all the Provincial Board members and PRC Board of Director and Provincial Legal Officer Maria Leobeth B. Deslate.
“Our next plan is to organize a large-scale blood drive in collaboration with the provincial government (maybe) in September this year,” added Armiza.
PRC data showed that a total of 13,502 blood units or 1.65 percent of the province’s total population were collected in a year-round voluntary bloodletting campaign in 2023.
All the 17 local government units in the province have also reached their respective annual target of one percent of their total population last year.
The organizers of mass blood donations and outstanding blood donors in the province last year will be recognized during the Sandugo Awards as among the highlights of the Blood Donors Month in July. (Philippine Information Agency Capiz)
