HAGONOY, Bulacan-The family of the 40 year old man who died of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) due to existing heart condition while waiting for his turn to receive the government’s Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) is not blaming anyone over the incident.
At the wake of Walfredo Ople Catajan, Jr. at Saint Anne’s National Shrine and Parish church in this town on Monday, his aunt Luzvininda Ople and other members of the family expressed their understanding of what happened and that it was not intentional nor caused by anybody.
“We are not blaming or putting blame and accusations against anyone. We understand what had transpired. Our nephew was eager to receive the cash assistance for him and his two siblings. We will be really thankful of the help and assistance anyone could extend to our family in this hour of grief and sorrow,” she told NEWSCORE Bulacan.
She said, her nephew was among those in the priority lines and seats when the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium opened its main entrance door for the P5,625 worth of ECT distribution to beneficiaries from Hagonoy town on Saturday.
But at around 10:30 a.m., while seated and waiting for his name to be called, Catajan suddenly experienced chest pains, difficulty in breathing and other discomfort.
Ople said her nephew has an existing heart ailment and is taking maintenance medications.
“He was excited to personally receive the ECT. It was named after him as a beneficiary, he was a Person With Disability (PWD) because of his heart ailment.
We appreciate the Provincial Government of Bulacan’s full effort in providing all medical attention to our nephew from the Capitol Gym to the hospital. They really gave their best, but, it was unfortunate that our loved one expired despite all the efforts given to him,” she said.
Government responders immediately rushed him to the Bulacan Medical Center just within the Provincial Capitol grounds where he was immediately attended to and was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other tests, including an ECG (electrocardiogram), to check his heartbeat. However, the center’s medical team was unable to revive him. Catajan was declared dead at about 11:05 a.m.
According to Dr. Cris Carlo Pedrosa, the Internal Medicine doctor in BMC, the cause of death was acute coronary syndrome. The American Heart Association, on its website, explains that ACS happens when the heart muscle suddenly stops receiving blood.
The Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium is a fully airconditioned facility and ECT beneficiaries are all sitted in the chairs provided at the center floor and at the plenary. PWD, senior citizens, pregnant women are placed in the priority lanes.
Catajan according to her was a former teacher and had worked in a lending firm. He was the eldest of three children. Both their parents have died since 1991.
Gov. Daniel Fernando, Vice Gov. Alexis Castro and Rowena Joson Tiongson, head of the Bulacan Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), extended their sincerest sympathy to the family of Catajan.
“The unexpected incident pains us so much in the PSWDO and the whole of the Provincial Government of Bulacan. Our only intention in all the programs of the Provincial Government of Bulacan through the leadership of our Gov. Daniel Fernando is to bring immediate help and assistance to help ease the daily lives of our fellow Bulakenyos particularly the ones in need,” Joson said in a statement on Sunday.
She assured other beneficiaries of the ECT program would continue and that the PSWDO would be implementing measures to prevent a similar incident.
On Sunday, Tiongson, accompanied by Provincial Administrator Antonette Constantino, visited the wake of Catajan and personally extended the provincial government’s condolences to his family.
Senator Joel Villanueva on Monday urge government agencies, especially the DSWD to continuously review and improve their payout systems to ensure they are safe, efficient, and accessible for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
In a statement, the senator who hails from Bocaue town in Bulacan said that thete is also a need for closer coordination and proper planning with concerned Local Government Units to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Walfredo Ople Catajan Jr. of Hagonoy, Bulacan. We call on the concerned agencies to provide all necessary support and assistance to his loved ones during this difficult time,” he said.
“Nakakalungkot po ang pangyayaring ito. Hindi na niya mararamdaman ang tulong na dapat sana’y pantawid sa gitna ng kahirapan,” (This is really saddening. He can no longer experience the help that is supposed to provide for him for his daily life), the senator added.
While financial assistance is a critical lifeline for our most vulnerable kababayans, it must never come at the cost of their safety or lives, the senator added.
