The Senate has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with non-governmental organization Mabuhay Shriners that aims to help indigent Filipinos seeking medical assistance.
The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation, collaboration, and civic engagements between the Senate, through the Senate Public Assistance Office (SPAO), and Mabuhay Shriners.
Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and Representative Romeo S. Momo Sr., the potentate of Mabuhay Shriners, signed the MoU last June 13.
Lino S. Ong, director general of the Senate Public Assistance Office (SPAO), represented Sotto and served as witness to the signing ceremony.
Through this partnership, the Senate will refer to the organization requests for social and medical assistance from the public seeking assistance from the Senate and from each individual senator’s office.
This includes, but is not limited to, the grant of medical aid to children who suffered burns and need of cleft lip, cleft palate and clubfoot surgeries, and other medical aid which Mabuhay Shriners can provide in the future.
Upon proper evaluation and assessment of the medical assistance sought by any constituent of the Senators, the Senate, through SPAO, shall endorse to Mabuhay Shriners the requests for proper evaluation.
The partnership is part of the initiatives of the Senate Public Assistance Office to partner and collaborate with several government institutions and the private sector to provide effective, efficient and expeditious services to the public.
In 2021, SPAO facilitated 36,997 various forms of medical assistance and referred over a thousand of non-medical related requests for assistance.