ANGELES CITY– Amid former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s flight to Germany to seek stem cell cure for him and his wife former Pres. Arroyo, their ally Rep. Carmelo Lazatin of this city has filed a bill for the establishment of the country’s first stem cell center.
“House Bill No. 5287 seeks to establish a Stem Cell Center of the Philippines, which will spearhead the research and development of stem cell technology, and also serve as storage area for stem cell technology that it will develop,” Lazatin said.
He cited the “vast potential of stem cell technology in curing fatal cancers and heart ailments.”
The bill, however, is not clear on whether it also supports the controversial embryonic stem cell research protested by the Catholic Church. The late Pope John Paul II had denounced this as “involving the destruction of human embryos.”
Catholic Church authorities have compared embryonic stem technology to abortion and euthanasia.
However, stem cell research could also involve only tissues or blood from adults. This has not sparked any controversy and has even been endorsed by Catholic authorities.
“The benefits of stem cell are overwhelming to be just simply ignored by the government because many Filipinos are suffering from different diseases that could be cured by this medical breakthrough,” Lazatin said.
Only recently, former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo flew to Germany reportedly to seek stem cell technology cure for his heart ailment and for the neck injury of former Pres. Arroyo who underwent a series of surgeries.
Stem cells are biological cells found in all multi-cellular organisms. They can divide into diverse specialized cell types and can self renew to replace defective parts of the body.
Lazatin said his proposal “ is in line with the state’s policy to protect and uphold people’s right to life and health” as he cited Article 13, Section 12 of the Constitution declaring that “the government shall undertake appropriate health, manpower development, and research, responsive to the country’s health needs and problems.”
“In accordance with the provisions of the Charter, research on stem cell technology should be pursued as it can save thousands, if not millions, of Filipinos who are affected by diseases which can be cured by this modern technology,” he said.
He noted that “many countries have started tapping stem cell’s potential in health and medical research, especially to find solutions to diseases such as cancer, heart attacks and other cardiovascular anomalies, Parkinson’s and different birth defects.”
“The United States, for example, has started research on stem cells, creating an array of scientific advances and medical applications. South Africa followed suit in 2004 by creating a stem cell bank while China recently passed a legislation allowing research on stem cell,” he added.
Lazatin also said that Singapore has recently been dubbed as Asia’s stem cell center, with over 40 stem cell research groups.
