A Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop where all government agencies and organizations are gathered in one office inside hospital grounds so that Filipinos who would need assistance need not go to different areas.

The plight of Filipinos, most especially the poor, has always been my fuel to drive and push for programs that would help them in their daily struggles, such as better health care and efficient health services.

Over and again, I have seen these struggles for a long time. Going back to when I was still the personal aide of the then mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, his former office always had this long queue of poor and sick brothers and sisters asking for help in their health crisis. That was for two decades an everyday sight, and I chose to believe that this kind of dire situation will end only if we chose to act on it.

Then 2016 happened. My former boss became the father of this nation and I was given the special role to assist him in providing the needs of the nation. That’s when the Malasakit Center program was born.

With urgent orders of the President to find a way to help those seeking medical assistance, I initiated the Malasakit Center not because it was the best time to do so, but of the reason that it should have been done eons of years ago. The Malasakit Center was never built on the ideals of politics, fame nor personal gain. It was built on the solid foundation of the Filipinos that there is still hope even in the face of adversity.

And so, the Malasakit Center program was born and now prospers. With over 44 Malasakit Centers in the country, the recent one opened just last week in Cagayan de Oro, the plans to further help Filipinos and provide quality health service will never cease. We plan to build more over the next months and on my end, I am halfway through the process of institutionalizing this program that has already proven its worth, even though it did not and will never cost the government a single peso at all.

The Malasakit Center Act of 2019 (Senate Bill 199), which I filed earlier on July 2019, has now finished Senate interpellations and has garnered support from my co-senators. This act will ensure that the Malasakit Center program will continue to render services even when another administration in the future will head the country.

A Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop where all government agencies and organizations are gathered in one office inside hospital grounds so that Filipinos who would need assistance need not go to different areas, spend more money, time and effort just so his or his loved one’s medical expenses will be alleviated.

It is a great relief for each and every Filipino, especially to those who are poor and indigent. Plus, only one application form will be filled up to process all requests in the different agencies such as the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and many others.

Another main reason why I am pushing for the institutionalization of this program is to address the lack of personnel of the Malasakit Centers, especially in local government-run hospitals. It was clear during the hearings, however, that the Malasakit Center will complement the Universal Health Care Law and will never attempt to amend it to reallocate funds. It was also clear that the assistance given by the different agencies will be up to their discretion and that the Malasakit Center is only a channel to hasten and expedite assistance.

A lot of people have questioned the intentions of the medical service program which I started and initiated more than a year ago but, this program continues to defy not just the norm nor the doubts of many people who are against me or the administration I am in. But one thing every Filipino should always keep in mind, the Malasakit Center continues to defy a system that has been crippled by many political ideals and beliefs.

I may have my own political parties, but providing the country better health service only means one thing: that my job as a public servant goes beyond these affiliations. My service is to the nation, to the country and to the flag. I am simply giving back what you have invested in the government because you all deserve to be treated equally, to have equal access to better health care and service.

I ask each and every Filipino to continue to support the Malasakit Center Act of 2019 and its cause. This is for you and for the next generations to come.