Malasakit Center beneficiaries: 15M and counting
FIFTEEN million beneficiaries and counting.
This is the update of the Department of Health (DOH) in Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Health regarding the current state of the Malasakit Centers Program.
Despite the rumor about the outcome of the “one-stop shop for medical assistance”, DOH Sec. Ted Herbosa told to the architect of the Malasakit Centers Law and chairman of the committee, Senator Bong Go, that the agency will continue funding the Malasakit Centers for poor patients.
Go was also happy with the DOH’s guarantee that no patient will be turned away from Malasakit Centers.
Representatives of DOH, PhilHealth, PCSO, and DSWD are located in 166 Malasakit Centers nationwide. Under the program poor patients no longer have to go anywhere else to get medical help.
“Bakit pa natin pahihirapan ang mga Pilipino? Pera naman nila ’yan! Napakahalga po ng ambag-ambag (ng mga ahensyang ito).
Napakahalaga po dito ng kunsensya ninyo,” said Go.
Meanwhile during the hearing, the DSWD announced that patients can get medical assistance or guarantee letters directly from the Malasakit Centers. This is after the agency revised Memorandum Circular No. 16 so that patients can benefit more from DSWD funds.
“Thank you to DOH and DSWD. That will be a big help to the hospital patients, especially for our poor countrymen,” added Go.
During Go’s recent committee hearing, the DOH thanked the Senator for the millions that were helped by the program that Senator Bong Go started even before he became a lawmaker.
