SerpApi.Org
On the court, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao has built a reputation as a fiery mentor willing to do whatever it takes to help his team succeed.
Away from basketball, he has embraced a mission far bigger than winning games.
The former Pampanga representative authored Republic Act No. 10871, or the Basic Life Support Training in Schools Act, better known as the "Samboy Lim Law," after PBA legend Samboy Lim collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest during an exhibition game in 2014.
Lim, who died in 2023, suffered severe brain damage because no one at the venue knew how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
To help prevent similar tragedies, the law, enacted in 2016, requires all public and private basic education schools to provide age-appropriate, hands-on CPR and basic life support training to students.
Ten years later, Guiao rues the lack of funding needed to fully implement the measure, leaving much of its life-saving potential unrealized.
"The goal is for every high school or K-12 graduate from any public or private school to receive CPR training before graduation," Guiao told ESPN. "So they have the skill, they have the capability to do CPR in any emergency situation."
"If the law is fully implemented, graduating students from public and private schools will be required to demonstrate CPR competency before they can graduate.
"It hasn't been prioritized in terms of budget allocation. Funding has been allocated because the training requires some expenses, but they are not significant. If there is political will, I think the budget is workable."
CPR keeps oxygen-rich blood flowing to the brain and heart when a person's breathing or heartbeat stops. When administered immediately, it can double or even triple a victim's chances of survival by buying precious time before medical responders arrive.
Continuous chest compressions help maintain blood circulation, reducing the risk of permanent brain damage during those critical first few minutes.
Those first four or five minutes often determine whether a person lives or dies.
"The element of time is very important," Guiao told ESPN. "You have to be able to apply it within four to five minutes of the incident happening. Because more than that, there will be damage to the organs. So the more people know it in different situations, the better our chances of saving lives.
"The time that you try to get to the hospital or waiting for the ambulance is the four to five-minute window that you can save a life. So if more people know it, and more people are aware of it, we can save more lives."
Guiao is now working with Solicitor General Darlene "Lelen" Berberabe, Lim's widow, to push for the law's full implementation.
He is also coordinating with the Department of Education, headed by Secretary Sonny Angara, who authored and sponsored the measure in the Senate during his time as a senator.
Various schools across the Philippines have also launched programs and initiatives to jump-start the law's implementation, 10 years after it was enacted.
"We have the people in place to lobby for funding, to lobby for the implementation," Guiao said.
Guiao believes stronger enforcement of the law over the past several years could already have saved lives.
He pointed to the deaths of Ateneo Blue Eagles student-athletes Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia during a team-building activity in Aurora last June.
Guiao told ESPN that the immediate presence of someone properly trained in CPR could have significantly improved their chances of survival.
"The situation of Samboy was a basketball game where the people inside the gym had no knowledge of CPR, which could have saved him," Guiao said.
"Similarly, in the case of Baterbonia and Adili, their chances of survival could have been higher, or at least they would have had a better chance, if CPR had been administered properly.
"That's why it's important to have trained people in every setting, whether you're in a mall, playing basketball or pickleball, watching a movie, eating out, or simply at home. You just never know."
Guiao hopes to expand the reach of the initiative beyond schools by encouraging collegiate leagues such as the UAAP and the NCAA to adopt mandatory CPR training with the help of the Philippine Sports Commission.
"I will propose it to them," he said.
"But of course, we don't have political influence or power or authority to do that. What we can do is only propose it and push for it, lobby for it.
Guiao, who has been out of public office since 2016, said he would "propose it to the Philippine Sports Commission because I think it has the resources to implement this across the sporting community."
For now, Guiao remains focused on equipping the younger generation with life-saving skills as he tries to make up for lost time.
"It's good for the kids because the older people are vulnerable here," he said.
"Their parents, their uncles and aunts, their grandparents. Young people have the opportunity to use these skills to help those who are most vulnerable."
