Tanauan City, Batangas — Batangueña Maria Zabale recalls the struggles her husband went through while battling Stage 4 esophageal gastric cancer. Zabale’s husband was admitted to Batangas Medical Center at a time when the family’s financial resources were at their thinnest before turning to the Malasakit Center for assistance.

The Malasakit Center helped with all of her husband’s medical needs including diagnostic tests like ultrasounds and CT scans to hospital bills that soared beyond P100,000 — were shouldered through the assistance provided by the Malasakit Center. “Libre po lahat mula sa simpleng exam, x-ray po, at saka po ‘yung ultrasound, at saka po ‘yung CT scan na ginawa po sa kanya (Everything was free including simple exam, x-ray, and ultrasound — even the CT scan),” Zabale said.

Despite this, Zabale’s husband passed and she found solace in the continued presence of the Malasakit Center team and the personal outreach of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go. “Maraming salamat din po sa pakikiramay n’yo sa akin sa araw na ito na, kayo po ay dumalaw dito sa Malvar (Thank you for sympathizing with me when you visited here in Malvar),” she expressed.

“Patuloy kaming magseserbisyo sa inyo dahil bisyo ko ang magserbisyo at ako ay naniniwala na ang serbisyo sa tao ay serbisyo ‘yan sa Panginoon, serbisyo ‘yan kay Allah (We will continue to serve (every Filipino) because it is my vice to serve the people and God),” said Go.

For Zabales and others who have been helped by the Malasakit Center, the initiative is emblematic of a health crusade aimed at addressing systemic inequities, one patient at a time. As of now, 166 Malasakit Centers are operational across the country, poised to assist with patients' medical expenses.

“Para po sa akin, karapatan po ng bawat Pilipino ang makaramdam ng de-kalidad at abot-kayang serbisyong pangkalusugan. Hindi po dapat maging hadlang ang kahirapan sa pag-asang gumaling o makaahon (To me, it's every Filipino's right to experience high-quality, affordable healthcare services. Poverty should not be a barrier to our hopes of recovering),” underscored Go.