“Upcoming sites for the establishment of the Malasakit Centers have been determined as well.

In celebration of the National Hospital Month, this column will focus on how the Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP) is helping poor Filipinos access quality healthcare.

In recent years, taking care of one’s health has become an increasingly expensive necessity that drives many Filipinos to financial ruin. While the rich and the middle class feel the burden of the high cost of healthcare, it is the poor that suffer the most.

Many of our indigent countrymen and their families endure the long lines at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and their respective local government social service offices to defray health care costs, receive medicine or avail themselves of much-needed medical assistance. But in order to obtain them, the same poor Filipinos have to go around several government agencies and process a long list of documents and requirements which has become an added burden to those who are already struggling financially.

Recognizing this problem, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the establishment of Malasakit Centers across the country to provide indigent patients easier access to government assistance and services.

The Malasakit Center is an adaptation of the Lingap Para sa Mahirap program in Davao City when Tatay Digong was still mayor. This is a one-stop service center where applicants can avail themselves of all necessary assistance, so instead of going to several government agencies, they only need to go to one place.

We have only started this year but we already have several Malasakit Centers in the Visayas, such as in Cebu, Leyte and Iloilo. Over P94 million have already been utilized in these centers and over 25,884 patients have already been served.

Upcoming sites for the establishment of the Malasakit Centers have been determined as well. This project will go nationwide. In Luzon, we are planning to put up centers in Palawan and Pampanga. While in Mindanao, Malasakit Centers will be established in Cagayan de Oro, General Santos and Agusan del Norte. We will also be adding more centers in the Visayas, particularly in Bacolod and Dumaguete.

At present, agencies whose services can be availed of in these Malasakit Centers are the Department of Health (DoH), PhilHealth, PCSO and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Because of the positive feedback, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation is now eyeing to extend assistance to patients through our Malasakit centers.

Civil registration services are also being studied for inclusion in the Centers.

What I am also very excited about is the issuance of the Malasakit Center ID cards. This identification system will make our one-stop shop easier and even more accessible to our fellow indigent Filipinos. These will be given soon to patients in DoH-retained hospitals with Malasakit Centers.

“Many of our indigent countrymen and their families endure the long lines at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

As the head of the OSAP—the office spearheading the establishment of Malasakit Centers in different areas of the country—this makes me very proud. We have worked very hard to ensure that the Malasakit Center program of President Duterte will be a success. Our objective now is to establish enough Malasakit Centers to cover more than 7,000 islands and serve more than 100 million Filipinos in the country.

The current administration under the leadership of our Tatay Digong is very determined in helping our poor Filipino countrymen. We believe that if we invest in our people’s well-being, we will be empowering them to help us build a stronger and more prosperous nation.

Blast from the past: On 13 August 1826, French physician Rene Laennec died. He was the inventor of the stethoscope. His invention made it easier, safer and more convenient to listen to the internal sounds of the human body, greatly aiding the diagnosis of diseases and maladies.

Although in recent years advanced sonographic and imaging instruments as well as better diagnostic equipment and procedures have been developed to more accurately detect ailments and diseases, the stethoscope has retained its place as a practical, inexpensive and accessible tool for health professionals and a recognizable symbol of the healthcare profession.