Covid-19 no longer top cause of death in PH 

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) no longer holds a spot on the list of top 10 causes of death in the Philippines, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

“This is good news to us. In 2021, talagang nakita natin ang Covid-19 deaths ay naging number three cause of death dito sa ating bansa (we have really seen that Covid-19 deaths was the number three cause of death in our country),” Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media forum on Wednesday in Pasay City.

Vergeire made the statement following the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority that death due to Covid-19 ranks 11th nationwide as of October 2022.

“That signifies na kakaunti nalang ang namamatay dahil sa Covid dito sa ating bansa (that people dying from Covid-19 are fewer nationwide) and we are able to prevent already further deaths because of disease,” she said.

To date, the country has logged over 4.07 million coronavirus cases and more than 65,716 fatalities.

“Bumalik na dun sa dati nating trends kung saan, yung atake sa puso, ‘yung schemic heart disease pa rin ang nauuna, pumapangalawa po ‘yung stroke na tinatawag, ‘yung cerebrovascular diseases, pangatlo po ang mga cancer, pang-apat po ang diabetes at panglima, ang hypertensive diseases (The trends are back, where, heart attack, heart disease is still first, second is stroke, the cerebrovascular diseases, third is cancer, fourth is diabetes, and fifth is hypertensive diseases),” she said.

According to the PSA report, the other leading causes of death in the country are pneumonia (sixth); other heart-related diseases (seventh); chronic lower respiratory diseases (eighth); genitourinary system diseases (ninth); and respiratory tuberculosis (tenth).

Currently, the DOH is promoting programs on healthy behaviors and lifestyle to help the public avoid preventable diseases like these which can cause deaths.