165th Malasakit Center opens in Rosales, Pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go, chairman of the Senate committee on health, attended the inauguration of the 165th Malasakit Center at the Conrado F. Estrella Regional Medical and Trauma Center in Rosales, Pangasinan on Friday.

The Malasakit Centers program, which Go initiated even before he was elected senator, consolidates medical assistance of government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to unburden poor and indigent patients from lining up to get government assistance.

“Tuluy-tuloy lang ang programang ito dahil hindi natin dapat pinahihirapan ang mga pasyente. Dapat tulungan natin sila para hindi na sila pumipila sa iba’t ibang ahensya para makahingi ng tulong mula sa gobyerno,” Go said.

Malasakit Centers are distributed nationwide, with 92 in Luzon, 30 in the Visayas and 43 in Mindanao.

There are six Malasakit Centers in Ilocos, two of which are in Pangasinan. The other Malasakit Center in the province is at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City.

The DOH said the centers have assisted around 10 million Filipinos.

After the inauguration, Go distributed assistance to 322 hospital staff and 331 patients.

Aside from receiving snacks, grocery packs, face masks, shirts and balls for basketball and volleyball, there were select recipients of bicycles, shoes, mobile phones and watches.

He urged concerned agencies to extend further assistance to indigent patients.