HEALTH CONCERNS | With the loss of their yellow card benefits, residents in the 10 “Embo” barangays now under Taguig City’s jurisdiction worry about their health-care needs. (Photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Over 200,000 residents in Taguig City’s 10 enlisted men’s barrios or “Embo” barangays will no longer enjoy the health benefits available under Makati’s yellow card health-care program effective on Jan. 1, 2024.
The Makati City government made the announcement on its official Facebook account on Monday even as it clarified that its employees who live in the affected areas would retain their yellow card privileges. It also announced that it would be shutting down its health centers and lying-in clinics in the 10 Embo barangays since their license to operate had already expired.
For Arjo Clavel, an unemployed resident of Barangay Pembo and a stroke survivor, this was unwelcome news as the yellow card entitled him to free checkups and medicine.
The 42-year-old Clavel was also concerned about additional costs and the inconvenience that come with applying for new documents since he was now a Taguig resident.
Another affected yellow cardholder, Donna Yu, also lamented the loss of their health benefits, especially for senior citizens on maintenance medication that can run up to thousands of pesos. “If people get sick, undergo [an] operation [or] give birth, the bills [amount to] thousands, even millions but [because of the Makati local government], they don’t have to pay anything or sometimes, just P500,” she said.
Embo residents used to be Makatizens until a Supreme Court decision in 2021 on the land row dispute between the two cities awarded to Taguig jurisdiction over the 10 affected Embo barangays, including Bonifacio Global City.
The yellow card provides qualified Makati residents with free vitamins and medicine on top of free hospitalization at the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) for bills of up to P5,000. Beneficiaries and their dependents can also avail themselves of specialized medical and diagnostic services at partner facilities like the Makati Life Medical Center and Makati Medical Center.
Makati proposal rejected
In September last year, the Taguig City government turned down Makati’s proposal to establish a credit line to ensure that Embo residents would continue to have access to the latter’s health centers and OsMak. It cited concerns about ownership and contended that the proposal went against the directive of Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to exclude ownership matters from the transition process.
Taguig, on the other hand, has its own health program for residents. According to the local government’s website, it provides free dialysis and medicines for the sick, especially senior citizens. There are also newly established “super health centers” that offer free diagnostic laboratory services and can respond to the “immediate health needs of its citizens,” it added.
In May, it entered into a multi-year agreement with St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City to extend further medical support to residents who may avail themselves of hospital services for medical and surgical cases if endorsed by the City Health Office. The transfer of jurisdiction over the 10 Embo barangays from Makati to Taguig has not been without problems.
In August, the Department of Education (DepEd) was forced to take over supervision of the management and administration of 14 public schools caught in the turf war between the two local governments. This was after Makati City accused Taguig officials of trying to take over the schools without a writ of execution or legal order.
The Taguig City government, however, cited an order from the DepEd National Capital Region office which placed the 14 schools under the supervision of the Schools Division of Taguig-Pateros.