The idea occurred to me because when he was still the mayor of Davao City people asking for medical financial assistance would come to City Hall almost every day.

Last Tuesday, I witnessed the ceremonial signing by President Rodrigo Duterte of the first two laws passed in the 18th Congress. I had to be at Malacañang Palace in person because the two laws are greatly significant to me. They were the very bills that I filed in the Senate and major items in my legislative agenda during the campaign period.

The first law, Republic Act (RA) 11462, sets the next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from the second Monday of May 2020 to 5 December 2022, and then on the first Monday of December 2025 and every three years thereafter. The law extends the term of the current barangay and SK officials from two years to four years and a half, giving them sufficient time to implement their programs, especially the ones that are in support of the national government’s campaign against illegal drugs, crimes and corruption.

I’ve been openly stating that the two years’ term given to them is unfair to our current barangay and SK officials. It’s not their fault if the previous election kept on being postponed and pushed through only in May 2018. They deserve to hold office for at least three years, as has been the practice. Finally, what I have been wishing for them has become a reality through RA 11462.

I must thank, of course, my fellow lawmakers. Some of my colleagues in the Senate filed similar bills, and our bills were consolidated and defended in the plenary debate by Sen. Imee Marcos, the chair of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms. The Senate then approved the consolidated bill with 21 affirmative votes and no negative votes and no abstentions. In the House of Representatives, the counterpart bill was approved with overwhelming affirmative votes.

RA 11463, the other law that President Duterte signed last week, is very special to me, to say the least. Otherwise known as the Malasakit Center Act of 2019, the law institutionalizes the establishment of the Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop for medical financial assistance.

At the Center, patients or their representatives can ask for help from representatives of four government agencies, namely, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Departments of Health (DoH) and Social Welfare and Development and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. They no longer have to travel to and queue up in different offices.

As the President himself has stated in many occasions, I persuaded him to establish the Malasakit Center when I was still the Special Assistant to the President. The idea occurred to me because when he was still the mayor of Davao City people asking for medical financial assistance would come to City Hall almost every day, and many of them came from outside the city — not just from neighboring provinces but even from as far as Bukidnon and South Cotabato. I was tasked by then-Mayor Duterte to find ways to help those people. So, I saw firsthand that the public needs easier access to relevant government funds.

So far, 53 Malasakit Centers have been opened all over the country. The latest is at the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital last Friday. The establishment of the centers have been an initiative of the Office of the President and was at risk of being halted if future administrations do not prioritize health care. Through RA 11463, we are now assured of the continued operation of Malasakit Centers in the years and even decades to come.

The law mandates the establishment of a Malasakit Center in Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and in each of the 73 DoH-run hospitals all over the country. It also allows the establishment of Malasakit Centers in hospitals run by local government units (LGU) if they meet the standards and criteria. This provision is important because a few LGU have opened Malasakit Centers on their own without proper coordination with the concerned government agencies. So, the requests of the people needing help were not properly granted. We have to uphold efficiency in serving the people because the money that we are giving them comes from them in the first place.

Again, I’m grateful to my colleagues in the Senate and allies in the House of Representatives for their overwhelming support to the Malasakit Center. I am honored and proud to be a significant part of the first two laws of the current Congress.

Some critics use the word “neophyte” in negative context when describing me as a legislator. I will not try to change their minds. I know that I am a neophyte and I still have so many things to learn. There is nothing wrong with being a neophyte, for we all start as such in whatever field we are in.

I remain determined in serving the people because, at the end of the day, being a good legislator is not about showmanship. It is about having concrete accomplishments for the benefit of the people. You should be able to turn the bills that you have filed into laws. You should be able to fulfill the promises that you have made to the people.