MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo said Wednesday she wants to continue and improve Malasakit Centers, a pet project of senator and erstwhile administration presidential bet Christopher “Bong” Go.
"Napakaganda na noong konsepto niya ngayon kasi pinapadali niya iyong paghingi ng tulong. Hindi iyong mga pasyente bangga nang bangga kung saan, para humingi ng tulong," opposition leader Robredo said during the "Bakit Ikaw? The DZRH Presidential Job Interview."
(It’s a very good concept because it makes getting help easier. Patients don’t have to hop from one place to another to get help.)
But she said Malasakit Centers, which are one-stop shops for medical and financial assistance located in Department of Health hospitals and other public hospitals, could still be improved, particularly by sourcing funding for the centers directly from the national budget.
Currently, financial assistance for people seeking aid at these centers are sourced from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation fund, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s fund, and the funding of other government agencies and local government units.
“Iyong mas malaking budget, mangangahulugan na iyong mga walang pambayad ng gamot ay mabibigyan natin,” Robredo said.
(Having a bigger budget means we can help people who cannot buy medicines.)
Robredo said she also wants to expand the program to wards in private hospitals and to patients who do not need to be hospitalized but still need medical care.
Go was previously the presidential candidate of Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan, a fringe party allied with the fractured PDP-Laban chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte has often criticized Robredo for her comments on his "drug war" and for supposedly "competing" with the government’s relief efforts, among others.
Go announced he was dropping out of the race to Malacañang in November, saying he was unprepared for it. This has left Duterte's PDP-Laban without a standard-bearer.