Senatorial candidate and Makati Mayor Abby Binay on Thursday emphasized that providing Filipinos access to free life-saving medicines and treatments would be one of her prioritizes if she were elected to the upper house in May.

“Isa sa mga isusulong ko sa Senado ang magkaroon ng libreng access sa mga life-saving ngunit mamahaling gamot ang mga may cancer at iba pang malubhang sakit, lalo na yung mga galing sa mahirap na pamilya,” she said.

(Providing free access to life-saving yet expensive medicines to patients with cancer or other serious illnesses, especially those from poor families, is one of the advocacies I intend to pursue in the Senate.)

“Hindi dapat maging death sentence ang pagkakasakit ng cancer dahil sa walang perang pambili ng gamot, pampa-chemotherapy o radiation. Dapat matulungan lalo na ang mga batang may cancer para gumaling sila, lumaki at magpunyagi para sa kanilang mga pangarap,” she added.

(Having cancer should not be a death sentence to those who cannot afford to buy medicines or have chemotherapy or radiation. Children with cancer need help to get healed, grow up and get the chance to pursue their dreams.)

Makati provides free maintenance medicines to senior citizens and other residents with hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, and other chronic ailments. 

WHO plan gets Binay nod

Binay also praised a recent plan from the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide free cancer medicines for children living in low- and middle-income countries.

While the Philippines is not among the six nations currently slated as pilot sites for the project, Binay expressed hope that WHO would consider adding it to the list.

“I look forward to the country’s inclusion as a pilot site for the WHO initiative. I also hope the Philippine government will take their cue from the WHO and step up efforts to help young cancer patients get better and spare their families from indebtedness and more hardship,” she said.

The six pilot countries for the WHO plan are Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal, and Zambia.