Senate approves Malasakit Center Act

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate approved on second reading the bill that seeks to institutionalize Malasakit Centers or one-stop shop centers for government health and social services, a pet project of Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go.

Senate Bill 1076, sponsored by Go, adopted several amendments from senators and was subsequently approved on second reading during the regular session on Wednesday.

SB 1076 or the Malasakit Center Bill will also mandate concerned agencies to provide immediate assistance to all Filipinos in need.

Go said one of the significant amendments to the bill’s current form allows a patient or representative to access and request medical and financial assistance directly from concerned agencies, in addition to what the Malasakit Centers seek to provide.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also sought to ensure that the law will not limit access to assistance or availability of medical and financial assistance only to indigent and financially incapacitated patients. 

Go said that this is the people’s money and it is being returned to them through fast and efficient medical services for all.

He emphasized that services at Malasakit Centers should be for all Filipinos and that the proposed measure was also modified so that it will not exclude individual referrals to other agencies for financial assistance.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto congratulated Go for the measure, saying the bill promotes “greater efficiency of availing medical and financial through one-stop shops.”

Recto also noted that the Philippine General Hospital should be included in the measure, which provides for the establishment of Malasakit Centers in the Department of Health (DOH)-run hospitals. PGH is run by the University of the Philippines-Manila.

Go agreed for PGH to be specifically mentioned in the bill, saying that he “interposes no objection as it is a premier national university hospital.”

He added that there is currently a Malasakit Center established in PGH to help patients in need of medical assistance in Manila. 

For her part, Sen. Risa Hontiveros also proposed to enhance the health promotion and education functions of the Malasakit Centers. 

Intended to reduce the out-of-pocket expenditures of indigent and poor patients including non-medical expenses like transportation costs, SB 1076 seeks to establish Malasakit Centers in all DOH-run hospitals throughout the country.

At present, there are 49 Malasakit Centers nationwide. Go said that he seeks to institutionalize and set criteria for the establishment of Malasakit Centers to ensure that these are properly staffed so that concerned agencies are represented and are functioning properly to help every Filipino in need.