Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan said her administration is studying ways to prolong the life expectancy of Manileños.

In her state of the city address (SOCA), Lacuna-Pangan said the studies that are underway will complement the interventions already in place to ascertain the health and well-being of Manileños through world-class medical services.

She said she wants to ensure the kind of lives that the city’s senior citizens will lead during their twilight years will be a quality, happy and healthy long one.

“Pinag-aaaralan natin ang mga dapat nating gawin upang mapahaba ang life expectancy ng ating taumbayan. Hindi lang mapahaba ang buhay ng Manileño, bagkus, mapahaba nang mayroong de-kalidad ang buhay ng ating mga senior citizens, na masaya at walang sakit (We are studying what should we do to extend the life expectancy of our people. Not only can the lives of Manileños be prolonged, but also the quality of life of our senior citizens, to be happy and disease-free),” the lady mayor said.

As a doctor, Mayor Lacuna-Pangan always prioritizes the overall good health of her locals and empowers the city’s health cluster.

The health cluster including the Manila Health Department (MHD) and the six city-run hospitals, which the mayor began running even before she became mayor, always work on ways to provide free health services to residents.

She also reported that the city-run hospitals Ospital ng Tondo, Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Sta. Ana Hospital, and MHD, are already ISO-certified.

She said ISO certification is a guarantee of the high quality of our health services and the proper system of the Manila hospitals. 

“Patunay ito na maging sa kalusugan, nagiging ganap na ang pagiging world-class ng ating lungsod (This is a proof that even in terms of health, the world-class status of our city is becoming complete),” the mayor added.

She also disclosed that the city’s more than 40 health centers have laboratories to examine blood, cholesterol, urine, and many others.

Each health center also has its own ECG and ultrasound services for pregnant women so that they no longer need to go to hospitals and private laboratories or clinics.

A medical mobile with portable dental X-ray, mobile laboratory and X-ray, she said, is circulating to provide free services and medicines such as lozartan, metformin, amlodipine and others to residents.

Meanwhile, the city also launched the “Walang Batang Manileñong Bungi sa 2030,” wherein kindergarten to Grade 1 pupils are given fluoride and sealant to keep their teeth healthy.

She also launched the Alis Sungki Balik Ngiti Program” for high school students.

The city government reported that 100 high school students have already been given free dental braces and dentures.

The “Responsable Ako: Huwag Maging Biba - Batang Ina, Batang Ama" adolescent health program was also launched and was brought to various high schools within Manila to address the growing number of teenage pregnancies. 

The program was followed by “Ang Bata, Bata, Planado kang Ginawa Safe Motherhood Program”, which increased the number of family acceptors from 36,000 to 157,872 in a year, to address the increasing population in the city.