Bong Go turns over P200 million government aid to Davao hospital

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go personally witnessed the ceremonial turnover of financial support from the national government to the Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) in Tagum City, Davao del Norte on Thursday.

The DRMC is a tertiary government hospital which holds the distinction of being the premier cancer enter in Mindanao.

The assistance which amounts to P200 million will be used for the purchase of a linear accelerator, an advanced radiotherapy technology for treating cancer patients.

“We will continue to work to improve access to quality health care services in various regions here in Mindanao,” Go said.  ”Nais naming mailapit sa inyo ang serbisyong kailangan ninyo lalo na pagdating sa kalusugan.”

In his speech, DRMC chief Bryan Dalid thanked President Duterte and Go for providing the hospital the necessary support to respond to the needs of patients.

The senator’s team also provided meals, food packs, vitamins, face masks and face shields to 2,100 frontline workers during his visit.

“Sumulat talaga ako kay President thru ko Senator Bong Go at hindi po siya nagdalawang-isip na tulungan tayo. Hindi naman po nakapagtataka kasi ang bisyo ni Sen. Bong Go ay magserbisyo… Tinulungan niya po tayo na ma achieve natin na magkaroon tayo ng replacement ng ating linear accelerator,” Dr. Dalid said.

“Ang current linear accelerator natin ay nakapaghatid na ng almost 60,000 treatment fractions, isang patient minimum of 28 fractions, kung compute ninyo ‘yan, nasa 3,000 cancer patients ang napagaling niyan,” Dr. Dalid explained.

Go also took the opportunity to check on the operations of the Malasakit Center in DRMC which was launched almost two years ago, in October 2019, and has benefitted thousands of patients especially amid the ongoing health crisis.

“Bilang mambabatas at Chair ng Senate Committee on Health, patuloy kong ipinaglalaban na maayos ang kapasidad at kapabilidad ng ating public hospitals para may matakbuhan ang mga kababayan natin sa probinsya lalo na ang mga mahihirap," explained Go.

In a speech delivered during the ceremony, the Senator also spoke about his various efforts in the Senate to expand access to quality health care services, especially in poor and underserved communities.

He cited the recent passage in the Senate of the 13 local hospital bills which he sponsored, and vowed to continue pushing for measures that will allow the people of Mindanao to access treatments and services comparable with those in Metropolitan areas.

“Pinaglaban ko ‘yung mga 13 hospital bills na pasado na sa Senado at pipirmahan ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa June 25. Pinaghirapan kong ipaglaban ito dahil ang mga makikinabang hindi ‘yung mga mayayaman kundi ang mga mahihirap natin na kababayan,” said Go.

“Hindi ako titigil na ipaglaban ang kapakanan ng mga mahihirap, lalong-lalo na sa panahon ngayon. Alam niyo ba na umaabot ng 400% ang occupancy rate ng mga ospital natin? This is the time to invest in our hospitals at health care system. Kaya kung may pondo, unahin natin dapat ang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino,” he continued.

The Senator said that his office is always open to serve the health sector and address concerns of medical frontliners. In particular, Go had pushed for the provision of additional funding for the implementation of the salary grade increase of the Nurse I position in 2019.

He was likewise instrumental in the enactment of Republic Act No. 11466 or the Salary Standardization Law 5, which he authored and co-sponsored, that gives civilian government employees, including nurses, their fifth round of salary increases broken down in tranches.

“Huwag kayong mag-alala, lapitan niyo lang ako kung may maitutulong ako sa inyo. Hindi ako ang klaseng pulitiko na mangangako ng hindi ko kaya pero makakaasa kayo na gagawin ko ang lahat sa abot ng aking makakaya upang magserbisyo sa inyo,” vowed Go.

”Alam namin na hindi namin mababayaran ang lahat ng sakripisyo niyo sa panahong ito… pero magtatrabaho kami ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte para maibalik namin sa inyo ang serbisyo na dapat sa inyo,” he added, addressing the medical frontliners in DRM.

To further show his appreciation for their service and sacrifices, Go’s team provided meals, food packs, vitamins, masks and face shields to a total of 2,100 frontline health workers during the visit.

They also gave new shoes or bicycles to selected frontliners for their daily commuting needs. Others received computer tablets to help their children with their school activities under the blended learning set-up.

In addition, personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development handed out financial assistance to 1,337 rank and file employees of the hospital. The same assistance was extended to 609 indigent patients.

Meanwhile, the Senator also offered to assist any beneficiary who are in need of medical treatments or services. He encouraged them to seek similar aid from the government through the Malasakit Center located within the hospital.

To expand access to medical assistance from the government, Go had authored the measure that became Republic Act No. 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019. The center is a one-stop shop where patients can conveniently avail aid from the DOH, DSWD, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

“Huwag kang mag-alala sa pamasahe dahil tutulungan namin kayo pati sa bayarin niyo sa ospital. Kung sino ang gustong magpa-opera sa Davao City o Maynila, kami na ang bahala. Basta para sa amin ni Pangulo, uunahin namin ang serbisyo para sa tao, lalo na sa mga mahihirap,” said Go.

The Senator also took the opportunity to recognize the efforts of local leaders for their untiring service amid the ongoing crisis. Those present were Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon, DOH Regional XI Regional Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang, and DR