CONGRESS has increased the combined budget for the Cancer Control Program (CCP) and the Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF) to P3.01 billion as the national government intensifies its battle against the disease that kills 96 Filipinos every day.
“We have earmarked P1.76 billion for the CCP and an additional P1.25 billion for the CAF in the 2025 General Appropriations Law,” Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. announced in a statement on Sunday while the country is observing National Cancer Awareness Month.
“The total of P3.01 billion represents a 33 percent increase over the P2.27 billion allocated to the CCP and the CAF in 2024,” added Campos, who serves as vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations.
“We want to encourage Filipinos to get cancer screenings, which increases the prospect of early diagnosis and treatment,” said Campos, the husband of Makati Mayor Abby Binay.
Campos is running for Makati mayor in the May 12 elections while his wife is seeking a Senate seat.
The CAF directly aids cancer patients, individuals living with cancer, cancer survivors, and those at high risk.
The fund covers the costs of cancer screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and related care components, including the required diagnostics and laboratory services for patients.
Access to the fund is available through Department of Health (DOH)-run hospitals and public cancer centers.
The CCP supports cancer prevention and related interventions, including the procurement and delivery of medicines aimed at providing supportive therapy and palliative care to patients.
The DOH has identified eight priority cancer types: breast cancer; childhood cancers; gynecologic cancers; liver cancer, including colorectal and other digestive tract cancers; head and neck cancers, including thyroid cancer; lung cancer; and cancers of the prostate, renal, and urinary bladder.
Cancer is now the second leading cause of mortality among Filipinos, following ischemic heart disease, according to a report released last month by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
At least 96 Filipinos die from cancer-related causes every day, and 184 cancer cases are diagnosed per 100,000 patients.
The top five cancers that lead to the highest number of deaths among Filipinos are lung cancer, followed by liver, breast, colon, and prostate cancers, according to the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology.
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