Go vows better access to health services in far-flung areas

Sen. Christopher Go (center) led the opening ceremony of the country’s 125th Malasakit Center at the Siargao District Hospital in Dapa, Siargao Island, Lanao del Norte, on Saturday, July 4, 2021. (Photo from his office)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go repeated his promise to make health services more accessible to residents of far-flung areas as he opened on Saturday the country’s 125th Malasakit Center at the Siargao District Hospital in Dapa town on Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte.

The Siargao District Hospital will be upgraded into the Siargao Island Medical Center with the recent enactment of a law that Go sponsored in the Senate last year.

“I made it a point that I will come here at Dapa to open this Malasakit Center for the use of patients, especially those who need help,” Go said in Filipino in his address at the opening.

The new center is the second in the province and third in the Caraga region, after the opening of one at the Caraga Regional Hospital in Surigao City and another at the Butuan Medical Center in Butuan City, Surigao del Sur.

One-stop-shop

In his address, Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, lamented that many Filipino patients had no health insurance coverage and were often left to pay for their medical bills.

This problem, he noted, was what Malasakit Centers are intended to solve as they serve as one-stop-shops that bring together representatives from various agencies that offer medical assistance – namely, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

“Just come to a Malasakit Center and the agencies will help you so that you don’t have to pay anything at the hospital,” he said. “If there’s still a balance, President Rodrigo Duterte has a fund that will make your billing zero balance. If you need help, for example for transportation money, you can approach the DWSD [representative] there.”

The Malasakit Centers program was institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11463, also known as the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019. Go principally authored and sponsored the bill. Duterte signed it into law in December 2019.

“So far, we have assisted around two million. We don’t discriminate among patients. These are for Filipinos, especially the poor or indigent patients,” Go said.

“To all the helpless, hopeless who have nobody to turn to, go to a Malasakit Center because it’s for you. If you are not assisted, tell them: ‘Hey, I’m a Filipino. This is my right,”’ he said.

Working with local officials

In a statement issued on Saturday, Go said he had been working with Siargao leaders to help improve public health services in the island.

In 2020, he sponsored a bill which later became Republic Act No. 1150 — the law that mandated the upgrading of the Siargao District Hospital and renaming it Siargao Island Medical Center. The law was authored by Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Jose “Bingo’ Matugas II.

This law will also increase the hospital’s bed capacity from 50 to 100 beds and places it under the supervision of the DOH. It also directs the upgrading of its professional healthcare services and facilities and authorizes the increase of its medical personnel.

“I went through the eye of a needle to fight for that law to upgrade this public hospital because I knew that the poor will benefit from it,” Go said. “Sometimes there are hospitals that reach a 400-percent occupancy rate — four patients in one bed. How will they get well in that situation?”

“I’m not the kind of politician who makes promises that I cannot keep. But you can rely on me to give you service to the best of my ability. To the doctors, nurse, and other frontliners here, don’t worry because I will fight for you,” he said.

Go’s team handed out meals, food packs, vitamins, masks and face shields to a total of 115 frontline health workers after the opening ceremony. Selected beneficiaries were given bicycles while others received pairs of shoes. Some also received computer tablets for their children’s education.

The DSWD also provided qualified rank-and-file hospital employees with financial assistance in a separate distribution. Similar aid was extended to 25 indigent patients.

Among those present at the opening were Secretary Michael Dino of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Surigao del Norte Gov. Francisco T. Matugas, Dapa Mayor Elizabeth Matugas, and chief of hospital Dr. Ester Tan

Other officials of Dapa town were also present.

After the launch, Go and his team then proceeded to the Dinakpan Gym in Del Carmen where they distributed aid to farmers and fisherfolk. More forms of aid were provided through the government’s Aid and Humanitarian Operations Nationwide (AHON) Convergence Program for vulnerable sectors.

As Go toured the island, he interacted with residents, listened to their concerns, and extended his help based on their needs. He provided tablets to some of the children to help them pursue their schooling amid the ongoing pandemic.

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