30 Malasakit Centers now operational in Metro Manila

Sen. Bong Go has urged Filipinos to put their health as top concern as he praised the Duterte administration’s efforts to close the gaps in health care access, particularly for the urban poor.

The lawmaker made the call during the opening of the 145th Malasakit Center at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Quezon City on Oct. 25 and the 146th at the Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in Las Piñas City last Wednesday.

“This is the service that I and President Duterte promised and continue to deliver – the kind of service that can be felt nationwide. What do you need to qualify for the Malasakit Center? You must be a Filipino, it doesn’t matter whether you are poor or an indigent, you are qualified. We have 80 Malasakit Centers in Luzon, 37 in Mindanao and 29 in the Visayas,” he said.

Go’s experiences working under Duterte exposed him to the stressful and difficult process that Filipinos go through when seeking government aid for medical bills. These encounters moved him to conceptualize the one-stop shop, which he promised to push for during his senatorial campaign.

“In my 23 years of service under President Duterte, I encounter everyday the problems of our country. Many of the poor would go to Davao to seek help with their hospitalization. It’s time consuming and it drains their transportation funds. Why are we allowing our fellow Filipinos to suffer (in seeking financial aid) when it is their money? That is why, when I became a senator, I pushed the Malasakit Centers Act, which aims to provide a ‘zero balance’ so the poor and the indigent will not have to pay any amount,” he pointed out in Filipino.

The Malasakit Center brings together the offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office under one roof to ease access to government financial and medical assistance.

The one-stop-shop aims to reduce a hospital bill to the lowest amount possible by covering various patient services and expenses, pursuant to Republic Act 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which Go principally authored and sponsored in the Senate.

More than three million patients have benefited since the program was initiated in 2018. There are now 146 fully operational Malasakit Centers nationwide.

In Metro Manila, 30 Malasakit Centers have opened in public hospitals that include the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Tondo Medical Center and the Philippine General Hospital.

In the 2nd District, centers have been launched at the National Center for Mental Health in Mandaluyong City; Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center in Marikina City; Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City; San Juan Medical Center in San Juan City and the Lung Center of the Philippines, Novaliches District Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, East Avenue Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, National Children’s Hospital, PNP General Hospital and Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City; Ospital ng Malabon in Malabon City; Navotas City Hospital in Navotas City; Valenzuela Medical Center and Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital in Valenzuela City in the 3rd District have also opened their own.

Similar centers are also found at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City; Ospital ng Parañaque in Parañaque City; Pasay City General Hospital in Pasay City; Taguig-Pateros District Hospital in Taguig City; and Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in Las Piñas City in the 4th District.

During a speech at the unveiling of the Malasakit Center in Las Piñas City, the senator, who chairs the Senate committee on health, encouraged hospitals to prioritize the welfare of poor patients, particularly those who have nowhere else to turn for their medical needs.

He vowed to work closely with the Duterte administration to improve access and capabilities of hospitals and other health facilities so that they can continue to serve their patients despite the current COVID-19 situation.

Despite filing his candidacy for vice president in the upcoming national elections, Go stressed that his focus remains on fulfilling his mandate as a senator and in ensuring public service delivery amid the ongoing crisis.

He emphasized the importance of continuing to improve governance in order to meet the evolving needs of Filipinos, particularly at a time when the ongoing pandemic has altered everyone’s way of life.

“It is for this reason that I continue to prioritize improving the delivery of key public services, especially health care – in keeping with President Duterte’s commitment to provide a more responsive and compassionate government by bringing it closer to those in need,” Go stressed.