The Muntinlupa City government signed a memorandum of agreement with the Medical Center Muntinlupa (MCM) hospital for free breast ultrasound and mammogram to residents.
Mayor Ruffy Biazon and Dr. Ning Singh, MCM chairman of the board, signed the agreement on May 22, along with MCM management consultant Dr. Uriel Halum.
Mayor Ruffy Biazon and Dr. Ning Singh, MCM chairman of the board, at the signing of the agreement on May 22 (Photos from Muntinlupa PIO)
"We definitely welcome this development as this enables the City Government to address the problem of breast cancer head-on. By early detection, we hope to save many families from the heartbreak of losing mothers and women family members to an otherwise preventable disease," said Biazon.
The agreement provides that the city government will shoulder the cost of the tests of patients and target beneficiaries identified by the Kalingang Munti Action Center (KMAC) and verified by the Gender and Development (GAD) Office.
GAD patients qualified under the program may be accepted from May 1 this year to April 30 next year.
MCM will charge a package rate of P3,200 for the mammogram and breast ultrasound.
The Muntinlupa City Council earlier approved Resolution 2023-238 giving authority to Biazon to enter into an agreement with MCM.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), as much as one out of 13 Filipino women are more likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetime, making them significantly at high risk.
Similarly, the Global Cancer Report, which surveyed 15 Asian countries, showed that the Philippines has the highest breast cancer mortality rate among its counterparts.