By Raymund Antonio
Filipino indigents who will avail of medical assistance from the Office of the Vice President will now be given a guarantee letter to a partner hospital instead of cash.
This was announced by the OVP recently after it entered into an agreement with various hospitals and health facilities, mostly from Metro Manila and some regions.
Vice President Leni Robredo
(OVP / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
“We are trying to have partners at least in almost all regions. So the people who are in need from those areas don’t need to go here for assistance. They will go directly to the hospital),” Vice President Leni Robredo said in Filipino.
Robredo holds office at the Quezon City Reception House, but she has an extension office at the Ben-Lor Building along Quezon Avenue for the beneficiaries of OVP’s Social Services Program.
The medical assistance is being funded through the annual budget allocated to the country’s second top official.
The Vice President explained the shift from cash to a guarantee letter would ensure the assistance would be used by individuals solely for their medical treatment and other health-related problems.
“Maraming instances na nakita natin na, totoong nangangailangan, totoong may medical concerns, pero kapag hawak na iyong pera, nagkakaroon ng iba pang mga concerns other than medical. Pa-minsan nadadala doon (We have seen in many instances, they are really in need, they have medical concerns, but once they get hold of the money, other concerns arise. Sometimes, the money goes there),” she said.
Among the public hospitals in Metro Manila that her office has partnered with are the Navotas City Hospital, Philippine Orthopedic Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Philippine Children's Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, and Doctor Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital.
Also included are St. Theresa's Dialysis Center, Schistosomiasis Control Hospital, Manila Doctor's Hospital, St. John Biocare and Dialysis Center, and Abron Avitum Philippines Inc.,among others.
The OVP also wants to expand the coverage of its medical assistance in provincial hospitals.