The Makati City local government said on Monday that more than 147,000 Yellow Card holders in the city are receiving free healthcare services and maintenance medicines amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and threat of the Omicron and Delta variants.
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said that besides free hospitalization, laboratory, and consultation, Yellow Card holders, through the Libreng Gamot Para sa Mamamayan Program, are entitled to receive free maintenance medicines for hypertension, high-cholesterol, diabetes, and other ailments.
Binay said that some of the maintenance medicines include Metformin for diabetes, Losartan for hypertension, Rosuvastatin, Atorvastatin, and Trimetazidine for heart related ailments.
She added that the LGU also distributes Vitamin C with Zinc and B-complex vitamins to its citizens. Regular vaccinations for flu, pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis, and other critical diseases are also being conducted.
The mayor explained that every year, the LGU increases its budget allocation for the healthcare services for its residents, especially with the expensive treatments and medicines that beneficiaries shoulder on their own.
She said that diabetes patients spend P4,500 for their weekly insulin requirement, equivalent to P18,500 a month, not including glucose test strips and lancets being used each day.
Binay vowed to continue to improve the life of each and every Makatizen.
Registered voters, residents of Makati City, government employees working in the central business district and senior citizens aged 60 and above are eligible to get yellow cards with either three-year or lifetime validity.