Senator Christopher "Bong” Go, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, has been actively continuing his feeding program across hospitals that house Malasakit Centers to promote the importance of nutrition among patients and frontliners.
Go's Malasakit Team organized feeding programs for March in various parts of Metro Manila.
In Quezon City, they served meals at the National Children's Hospital, Philippine National Police General Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, National Kidney Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center.
In other parts of the National Capital Region, they also gave meals at Tondo Medical Center, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, and Philippine General Hospital, all in Manila City; Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center in Marikina City; Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City; Taguig-Pateros District Hospital in Taguig City; Ospital ng Parañaque; Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital and Valenzuela Medical Center in Valenzuela City; and Pasay City General Hospital.
Patients and watchers were given meals in Rizal, such as Antipolo City Hospital System Annex IV and Casimiro A. Ynares Sr. Memorial Hospital in Rodriguez.
Go's Malasakit Team also provided food at Southern Tagalog Regional Hospital in Bacoor City, Cavite.
In Mindanao, rice porridges were distributed at Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City, Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City, and Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital in Digos City.
The timing of these efforts coincides with Social Work Month celebrations in several hospitals, during which Senator Go has also expressed his gratitude to the social workers.
These dedicated individuals are crucial in providing medical assistance to indigent patients seeking help through the Malasakit Centers.
"Ngayong Social Work Month, nais kong ipaabot ang aking taos-pusong pasasalamat sa lahat ng ating mga social workers na walang sawang naglilingkod, lalo na sa ating mga Malasakit Centers sa iba't ibang ospital sa buong bansa. Ang inyong dedikasyon at sakripisyo ay tunay na kahanga-hanga at isang malaking ambag sa ating lipunan," expressed Go, who is also known as Mr. Malasakit.
"Sa pamamagitan ng ating Malasakit Team at sa suporta ng ating feeding program, patuloy nating pinapalakas ang ating adbokasiya na malasakit sa bawat Pilipino, lalo na sa mga nangangailangan. Ang inyong walang pagod na pagtulong at pag-aaruga sa ating mga kababayan na dumaraan sa pagsubok ng karamdaman ay nagpapakita ng tunay na diwa ng bayanihan at malasakit," he added.
The Malasakit Centers program is Go's brainchild, which he initiated in 2018.
It was later institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11463, which the senator principally authored and sponsored to provide convenient access to government medical assistance programs.
Since its inception, the Malasakit Centers program has established 161 operational centers and helped over ten million Filipinos nationwide.
Apart from the Malasakit Centers, Go advocates for constructing more than 700 Super Health Centers nationwide.
These centers offer various services, including database management, out-patient services, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray and ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit.
Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service, oncology centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, and telemedicine.
Go also principally sponsored and is one of the authors of Republic Act No. 11959, also known as the Regional Specialty Centers Act, signed into law by President Ferdinand "Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. in 2023.
The law mandates the establishment of regional specialty centers within existing DOH regional hospitals, improving Filipinos' access to specialized healthcare in all regions.