Makati Mayor and senatorial candidate Abby Binay emphasized the importance of preventive healthcare programs in improving the quality of life for Filipinos, regardless of socio-economic background.

“I will advocate for better preventive healthcare in the Senate. I believe preventive healthcare is more important because it costs much less than treating a more serious illness,” Binay said in Filipino.

She urged Congress to prioritize funding for preventive healthcare programs, as well as the modernization and expansion of public health facilities across the country.

“We must prioritize budgetary allocations for additional doctors and primary care facilities that can provide free services to all citizens, even those in far-flung communities,” she added.

Binay noted that making well-equipped and fully staffed barangay health centers accessible to the public would encourage more people to seek routine checkups and medical attention when needed.

“With free consultations, laboratory and diagnostic services, and medicines, citizens won’t hesitate to go for a checkup, whether they have symptoms or not. Early consultations lead to timely diagnoses and treatment before conditions worsen,” she said.

Binay’s push for preventive healthcare forms part of a broader health agenda that includes free maintenance medicines for seniors and low-income families, as well as free and unlimited dialysis and chemotherapy sessions.