Government should learn from Covid-19 pandemic and invest more in public health care.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go stressed this after he personally conducted a monitoring visit at the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City yesterday, March 21 to emphasize the government’s commitment to a more inclusive, effective and efficient provision of public health services amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The EAMC is at the forefront of efforts to combat the pandemic, catering to both Covid-19 patients and Persons Under Investigation.
Go witnessed the turnover of financial support amounting to P235 million from the Office of the President (OP) to the EAMC to upgrade its Medical Oxygen Generating System, among others, and also to assist underprivileged patients.
On the same day, the OP also turned over P100 million each worth of funding to help patients at the National Children’s Hospital (NCH), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), and Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC), all in the same city, and National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City.
“Now is the time to really invest in our healthcare system (I am hoping that this is the last pandemic in our life). Umaasa ako na ito ang huling pandemya sa ating buhay pero ang totoo hindi natin alam kung kailan dadating ang susunod. (In reality, however, nobody can tell as to when the next will come). Kaya sa mga ospital, full support kami ni Pangulong Duterte sa mga pangangailangan ninyo basta ang makikinabang ay ang mga mahihirap (To the hospitals, we and President Duterte fully support your need as long as the poor will benefit from it),” Go said.
In a speech delivered before the hospital staff, Go acknowledged that many Filipinos in rural and remote locations still lack access to essential health services.
He pledged to continue pushing for legislation to expand the capacity of the health care system at all levels in his capacity as chairman of the Senate health committee.
“Kakagaling ko lang sa Davao Occidental at ang pinakamalapit na general hospital doon ay 200 kilometers away, sa Davao City (I just came from Davao Occidental and the nearest general hospital there is 200 kilometers away from Davao City). Kung may emergency, hindi na aabot ang pasyente. Kaya tinulangan namin sila para sila ay makapagpatayo ng bagong ospital (If there is an emergency, the patient will not reach there. That is why we helped them for the establishment of a new hospital),” he added.
The Senate approved on the third and final reading 15 new local hospital bills sponsored by Go last January.
Among these bills are those that aim to upgrade, increase the bed capacity or establish new hospitals in various provinces. The lawmaker successfully pushed for the enactment of 24 other similar bills in 2021.
The Senate committee on health which Go chairs is set to tackle more health related bills in a committee hearing tomorrow, March 22.
Go expressed his gratitude to all frontline health workers who are risking their lives every day on the job.
He vowed to look after their interests, having recently pushed for the passage of a bill granting them additional Covid-19 benefits and allowances.
Authored and co-sponsored by Go, Senate Bill (SB) 2421 grants workers a monthly Covid-19 Risk Allowance for the duration of a State of National Health Emergency. It also stipulates the provision of additional compensation for those who contract Covid-19 while in the line of duty. The bill is set to be signed into law by President Duterte.
During the visit, the senator also checked on the operations of the EAMC’s Malasakit Center which he helped launch in March 2022.
He authored the measure that became the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019 with the aim of expanding access to medical-related aid from the government. The program has assisted at least three million financially incapacitated patients nationwide.
Go thus urged the public to continue cooperating in the fight against the pandemic. He praised the vaccination drive, which has so far administered about 140.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and inoculated 77 percent of the target population nationwide, as of March 20.
The senator from Davao recognized Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Elmer Punzalan, DOH Undersecretary Roger Tong-an, DOH Undersecretary Charade Grande-Mercado, Office of the Presidential Adviser to the Visayas Undersecretary Jonjie Gonzales, DOH Assistant Secretary Francis Laxamana, DOH Director Girlie Veloso, and Department of Social Welfare (DSWD) Dirrector Katrina Ongoco for their untiring service.
He also thanked EAMC Medical Center Chief Dr. Alfonso Nuñez III, NCH Medical Chief Dr. Moriel Creencia, NKTI Executive Director Dr. Rose Rosete-Liquete, POC Medical Chief Dr. Jose Pujalte, Jr., and NCMH Medical Chief Dr. Noel Reyes, among others.
Meanwhile, Go’s team provided meals, food packs, vitamins and masks to 2,891 health workers and 945 indigent patients after his speech.
They also gave select health workers new shoes or bicycles for their daily commute and provided others with computer tablets to help their children with their school needs.
In a separate distribution, personnel from the DSWD handed out financial assistance to 1,442 rank-and-file employees of the hospital. Similar assistance was also extended to indigent patients.
“Malapit na matapos ang termino ni Pangulong Duterte (the term of President Duterte is about to end). Binuhos niya, sinugal niya ang lahat para sa kinabukasan ng ating mga anak (He has given everything, he gambled everything for the future of our children). Narinig ko kanina na may nagpapasalamat sa amin (I heard earlier that someone was thanking us). Huwag kayong magpasalamat at kami ang nagpapasalamat sa inyo dahil binigyan niyo kami ng pagkakataon na maglingkod sa ating bayan (Do not thank us because you were the ones who gave us the opportunity to serve our country),” Go said.
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