Bong Go lauds groundbreaking of Super Health Center in Cebu City

Senator Bong Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, complimented the local government of Cebu City, including Congressman Eduardo "Edu" Rama, Mayor Mike Rama, Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia, and City Health Officer Dr. Daisy Villa, among others, for its efforts to bring the government's health services closer to their constituents in need.

On Wednesday, 18 October, Cebu City held a groundbreaking for the city's new Super Health Center in Barangay Labangon as part of the local and national government's commitment to make healthcare more accessible to its residents.

For his part, Go emphasized the importance of providing vital healthcare services, especially in remote and underprivileged communities, and underscored the suitability of Super Health Centers in addressing their basic healthcare needs.

As Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, the senator was instrumental in pushing for adequate funding to ensure that more Super Health Centers are established across the country. Some 307 Super Health Centers were funded in 2022 and 322 more in 2023, through the initiative of the senator, the Department of Health, local government units, and fellow lawmakers particularly Congressman Edu Rama for this specific Super Health Center.

In Cebu, DOH identified the cities of Bogo, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue; and the towns of Borbon, Cordova, Moalboal, Samboan, and San Francisco as locations for Super Health Centers in 2022. This year, more Super Health Centers will be established in the cities of Carcar, Cebu, Talisay, and Toledo, and in the towns of Carmen, Consolacion, Liloan, Medellin, and San Nicolas. An additional Super Health Center will also be established in Danao City.

Meanwhile, Go also offered his support to those in need of medical assistance. He pointed out the presence of Malasakit Centers in the city, located at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital, and Cebu City Medical Center.

A brainchild of Go, the Malasakit Centers program established convenient one-stop shops inside identified public hospitals where various government agencies, including the DOH, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, come together under one roof. This approach ensures that medical assistance programs are made easily accessible to indigent Filipinos.

The Malasakit Centers were institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11463, principally authored and sponsored by Go. According to DOH, more than seven million indigent patients have already benefitted from the 159 Malasakit Centers nationwide.

Meanwhile, there are other Malasakit Centers in the province at Cebu Provincial Hospital in Carcar City, Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital, Eversley Childs Sanitarium and General Hospital in Mandaue City, and Talisay District Hospital in Talisay City.

Furthermore, Go emphasized the recent enactment of RA 11959, also known as the Regional Specialty Centers Act, which he principally sponsored and co-authored in the Senate. This legislation requires the creation of Regional Specialty Centers within existing DOH regional hospitals.

Currently, there are three specialty centers inside VSMMC, including cardiovascular care, neonatal care, and trauma care. There will be other specialty centers set to be established inside the hospital, such as renal care and transplant center, lung care, brain and spine care, orthopedic center, physical rehabilitation medicine, infectious disease and tropical medicine, mental health, burn care, toxicology, cancer care, geriatric care, eye care, and dermatology care.

As vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, Go also supported the rehabilitation and expansion of a multipurpose building in Brgy. Duljo Fatima, the construction of a new multipurpose building in Bahay Silangan, and the acquisition of a mini dump truck for the city.