Bong Go to job-seekers: Help fill vacancies in Malasakit Centers
SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go, during the public hearing of the Senate Committee on Health he presided on Tuesday urged job-seeking Filipinos to help government bring medical assistance programs closer to poor and indigent patients through the Malasakit Centers.
This is after he raised concerns on the lack of personnel from partner agencies which was due to vacancies according to agency representatives present in the hearing.
Established under Republic Act No. 11463, which Go principally sponsored and is one of the authors, Malasakit Centers streamline access to medical and financial assistance for indigent patients.
They achieve this by consolidating services from the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
During the hearing, Go, chairperson of the Committee on Health, questioned the adequacy of staffing from the agencies in these centers, particularly highlighting the critical shortages that hamper the Malasakit centers’ operations.
Director Girlie Veloso from the Malasakit Program Office of the DOH stated that there are already 161 established Malasakit Centers. She also provided an update on the staffing status of Malasakit Centers nationwide per agency.
Go appealed to the Filipino people, urging those unemployed to consider applying for positions within the PCSO and other partner agencies that need to fill vacancies so they can have representatives in each Malasakit Center as provided by the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019.
Go said that Malasakit Center was legislated with his fellow lawmakers to alleviate the hardships Filipinos face in accessing medical and financial assistance, emphasizing that the funds available for these services belong to the people and should be readily accessible to them.
“Kaya po natin ito isinabatas para huwag pahirapan ang mga kababayan natin. Pera naman po nila ‘yan. Sa taong bayan po ‘yan. Tulungan po natin sila. Nakikiusap po ko sa inyo sa PCSO,” he said.
The hearing also delved into other partner agencies’ contributions and staffing status in the Malasakit Centers, including the DSWD and PhilHealth.
DSWD Assistant Bureau Director Edwin Morata assured the committee that all hospitals now have dedicated social workers, except for a few newly opened or under-construction facilities.
Meanwhile, PhilHealth’s representative, Dr. Clementine Bautista, addressed the issue of PhilHealth personnel in the Malasakit Centers. Bautista noted that there are 137 Malasakit personnel deployed across DOH Retained Hospitals and the Philippine General Hospital in Manila, working alongside additional PhilHealth CARES personnel to assist members with their concerns.
