Presidential help desk to be launched for financial, medical requests
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. holds his first press conference after presiding over his first cabinet meeting where his economic team gave a briefing about the country’s economic outlook at the Malacanang Palace on Tuesday. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will launch a “presidential help desk” to cater for financial and medical requests.
Based on Executive Order No. 20, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on March 21 but was only furnished to the media on Thursday, the Presidential Help Desk will complement the existing health services and projects of the government.
“The Presidential Help Desk shall be administered by the PACe (Presidential Action Center). For this purpose, there shall be a Project Coordinator, directly reporting to the PACe, tasked to ensure that the day-to-day implementation of the project is managed effectively, efficiently and economically, and oversee the operational activities of the project, including the performance by all employees and personnel of their respective functions,” the executive order read.
The EO stated that During the first six months of the Marcos administration, the Office of the President, through the PACe has received a total of 52,728 action documents from the public, of which, 20.08 percent are related to medical concerns such as requests for medicines or financial aid to defray costs of medical procedures and hospital bills.
The EO further noted that the head of the PACe will determine the appropriate staffing pattern and corresponding qualification standards for all the positions necessary to operate the Presidential Help Desk.
“For this purpose, the PACe, in coordination with the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration, shall submit to the Department of Budget and Management, for review and approval, a proposal on the integration of the Presidential Help Desk into the overall organizational structure and staffing pattern of the PACe,” the order further stated.
The order also provides that the PACe will also submit to the President — via the Office of the Executive Secretary — an annual report on the operations of the Presidential Help Desk. — MJ Soriano, trainee
