Solutions to problems
I reaffirm my commitment to continue working hard to help improve our health care system and provide access to public health services to our people who need them the most.
Daily TribuneI reaffirm my commitment to continue working hard to help improve our health care system and provide access to public health services to our people who need them the most.
For a family whose income is barely enough to cover their daily needs, a member getting sick and needing hospital care can be nothing short of a tragedy. When it is already a struggle just putting food on their table, having to scrape together enough money to pay exorbitant hospital fees is no different from kicking them when they are already down.
Sadly, that is precisely the experience of many of our poor Filipino families. Faced with unexpectedly huge hospital costs, they either dig themselves deeper into debt or forego hospital care altogether, both of which lead to more dire consequences. With no one else to rely on, many turn to the government to provide them assistance. However, I have also personally witnessed how seeking government aid can be very taxing on the applicants before.
When I was still working as the aide of our former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was then the Davao City mayor, we witnessed people queuing up in seemingly endless lines from one government agency to another just to apply for medical aid. So, when FPRRD was elected as our president, we provided a solution to address this problem and later on institutionalized it through the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which I authored and sponsored when I became a senator.
A one-stop shop, the Malasakit Center brings together under one roof relevant agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, to provide more convenient access to medical assistance programs. It seeks to reduce a hospital bill to the lowest possible amount by covering various medical services and expenses, particularly for poor and indigent patients.
More than four years since the first Malasakit Center was opened in Cebu City, I am happy to note that we have just opened the 152nd Malasakit Center in the country last 15 September. Together with my good friend, Sen. Robin Padilla, I personally witnessed the launch of the center and distributed assistance to 16 patients and 92 frontliners at the Maria L. Eleazar General Hospital in Tagkawayan, Quezon. This latest installment is the second Malasakit Center in Quezon province and the 12th in the CALABARZON region.
Nationwide, we now have 86 Malasakit Centers in Luzon, 29 in the Visayas and 37 in the Mindanao region, already benefiting millions of Filipinos. It is heartening to know that this program we initiated four years ago continues to expand even until now.
Apart from the opening of the Malasakit Center, Sen. Padilla and I were also in Quezon province to witness the groundbreaking ceremony of the Super Health Centers in Tagkawayan and Atimonan towns.
I have also been pushing for the establishment of more Super Health Centers across the country to improve the access of the Filipino people to quality government health services, especially in far-flung areas. We have earlier pushed for sufficient funding under the 2022 Health Facilities Enhancement Program to construct 305 Super Health Centers nationwide.
With the establishment of such centers in far-flung communities, patients in the countryside will not need to travel to the city anymore just to get the necessary medical attention from hospitals. Our goal is to bring public health services closer to them instead.
The Super Health Center is a medium version of a polyclinic yet an improved version of the rural health unit. The services available in the center include database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory, x-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation center; and telemedicine, where remote diagnosis and treatment of patients will be done.
In our visit to Quezon province, we also personally led the distribution of aid to 375 struggling students in Tagkawayan, and 375 struggling students in Atimonan.
Meanwhile, my office continues to mount a series of relief operations across the country. Last week, we assisted fire victims, including 214 families in Quezon City, 179 in Cebu City, two in Iloilo City; and 58 more in Bacolod City.
We also brought aid to 1,000 struggling residents in Ternate, Cavite; 1,000 in Baliuag, Bulacan; 978 in Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental; 301 in Legazpi City, Albay; 143 in Catarman, Camiguin; 116 in San Rafael, Bulacan; 80 in Paracale, Camarines Norte; 300 in Barobo and 200 in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur.
Livelihood assistance were also given to 2,398 residents in Alicia, Angandanan, Cabatuan, Ramon, San Mateo, Cauayan, Naguilian, San Guillermo, Echague, Ilagan City, Tumauini, Cabagan and Sto. Tomas in Isabela; 2,332 in Bacolod City, Sagay City, Calatrava, Toboso, Murcia, Silay City, Victorias City, EB Magalona and Manapla in Negros Occidental; 1,219 in Meycauayan City, Bulacan; 600 in Sarangani, Davao Occidental; 600 in Bataan; 400 in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat; 243 in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya; 1,200 in Nabua, Camarines Sur; 249 in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; and 108 more in Bongabon and Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija. We also helped 441 senior citizens in Caloocan City.
As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and as someone who knows just how tough it is for our low-income Filipinos to spare the very limited money and time they have to get the medical attention they need, I reaffirm my commitment to continue working hard to help improve our health care system and provide access to public health services to our people who need them the most.
As public servants, let us work together to bring public services closer to those in need, especially the poor, the helpless and the hopeless who primarily rely on the government. As we overcome the pandemic, let us ensure that no Filipino is left behind toward recovery!