Senator Christopher "Bong" Go reaffirmed his dedication to enhancing the housing situation for Filipinos impacted by natural and man-made disasters during the turnover of emergency housing assistance in Malabon City on Friday, 5 July.

Go is advocating for the passage of Senate Bill No. 192, which aims to establish the Rental Housing Subsidy Program as a means of institutionalizing housing and social protection initiatives. This proposed measure intends to provide disaster victims with improved and affordable access to the formal housing market by offering rental subsidies.

“Huwag kayong mag-alala, ang importante buhay tayo at walang nasaktan. Iyan ang importante. Ang gamit mabibili natin ‘yan, ang pera kikitain natin ‘yan. Pero ang pera na ating kikitain ay hindi mabibili ang buhay. A lost life is a lost life forever. Ang importante buhay tayo. Kaya pag-ingatan natin ang buhay na ibinigay sa atin ng Panginoon,” Go said.

Held at the City Hall, the senator’s Malasakit Team provided snacks, shirts, masks, vitamins, basketballs, and volleyballs to the fire victims. There was also a select recipient of a mobile phone.

Meanwhile, the National Housing Authority (NHA), through the support of Go, provided emergency housing assistance to buy nails, roof sheets and other materials to the 13 affected families to rebuild their homes.

Go emphasized one of the programs of NHA in that delivers support for building materials via its Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP). This support is key to helping families quickly rebuild and recover from the destruction of their homes. Go continues to push for sufficient funding for the program, ensuring that victims can reconstruct their homes and restore normalcy as swiftly as possible.

“Yung matatanggap ninyo ngayon, ibili ninyo ng housing materials tulad ng pako, yero o ano pa man na makakatulong sa pagbangon ninyo,” he said in a video message.

Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, also urged residents to focus on their health and utilize the services offered by the Malasakit Center at Ospital ng Malabon and San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital in the city.

A brainchild of Go, the Malasakit Centers program provides a one-stop shop where concerned agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, are brought under one roof to ensure that medical assistance programs are within the reach of indigent Filipinos.

Go is the principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 11463, or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which institutionalized the Malasakit Centers program. To date, 165 operational centers have helped more than 10 million Filipinos nationwide, according to the DOH.

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