Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has called on all department heads of the city government to strengthen the dissemination of information on the free and quality services, particularly in the health sector, that many Pasigueños are not aware of.

Sotto said this on Monday, June 16, following a viral online post in which netizens praised the affordable services being offered at the CHAMP Pasig Wellness and Renal Center.

He said that while the post is favorable for the city government, he noted that it also highlighted the lack of public awareness regarding the other services being provided by the local government.

He emphasized that it offers numerous quality services accessible to all Pasigueños, regardless of socioeconomic status, as long as they reside in the city.

“Maganda naman siya (post), pero kung tutuusin eh parang mali, dahil sa totoo, alam po natin na marami [pa] tayong magandang serbisyo at kung alam lang ng mga Pasigueño marami tayong serbisyo na libre (The post was good, but honestly, it’s a bit off because we actually have many good services, and if Pasigueños knew about this, they’d see that a lot of them are free),” Sotto said.

“Marami tayong serbisyo na pumupunta ka sa health center natin p’wedeng i-avail ng kahit sinong Pasigueño, mayaman, mahirap, basta nakatira sa Pasig pwede nilang i-avail (There are many services in our health centers that any Pasigueño can avail of, regardless of their status, as long as they live in Pasig),” he added.

He stated that these services would be even more effective if more people were aware of them.

Aside from continually improving these services, Sotto said the city must also strengthen the dissemination of information on programs, particularly in the area of healthcare, noting that various health services, especially those available in health centers, are being offered but are not yet known to Pasigueños.

One of the services that many Pasigueños are still unaware of is the eKonsulta package, which was discussed during a recent meeting between the city government and PhilHealth, a benefit available free of charge to all residents.

Sotto said the lack of awareness is not the residents’ fault, but may instead be due to shortcomings in the city's information dissemination efforts, noting that even some city councilors might still be unaware of all the services being offered at local health centers.

He stated that when comparing the number of registered users to the total population of the city, the figure falls below 50 percent.

As a solution, he encouraged city officials to register for and avail themselves of the free services in health centers as this could help promote the services and raise overall awareness among residents.

The mayor, however, noted that both the quality of services and information dissemination in the city have improved over the years.

He reminded all department heads that providing excellent services is not enough, but it must be paired with strong communication efforts through proper campaigns, public information drives, and the development of effective information, education, and communication materials to reach a wider audience.