Taguig launches Malasakit Center to assist indigent patients
Published Jan 8, 2020 12:00 am
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
More than a month after the signing of the Malasakit Center Act, the Taguig City government launched its Malasakit Center on Wednesday at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital (TPDH).
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his younger brother, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, led the launching of the center, which seeks to make quality health care more accessible and affordable for indigent and poor patients in need of medical assistance from the government.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his younger brother, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, led the launching of the center, which seeks to make quality health care more accessible and affordable for indigent and poor patients in need of medical assistance from the government. (I Love Taguig Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Diño graced the launch, where they handed over a P5 million check to the city government.
In a statement, the Taguig City government said the Malasakit Center in TPDH is among the 74 established nationwide, including 28 centers in hospitals operated by local government units.
"We continue with our commitment to serve our people with the Malasakit Center, a presidential mandate that has exemplified our very effort to make our services more responsive to the needs of Taguigeños," Mayor Cayetano said. "We always seek to deliver people-centered services, so we had no problem identifying with the center."
Speaker Cayetano said the Malasakit Center "comes from the heart" of Go, and he thanked the latter for gracing the event and making the center possible in Taguig.
Go, meanwhile, thanked the Cayetanos for their "loyalty to President Duterte and to the people."
Taguig Representative Lani Cayetano also attended the launch.
In a joint statement, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez, principal authors of Republic Act No. 11463 or the Malasakit Center Act, congratulated Cayetano and Go for launching another Malasakit Center.
"It rolls out the red carpet for the establishment of a one-stop shop across the country where indigent patients will have wider access to quality medical and primary health care services that would complement the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) program," they said. "This will reduce, if not eliminate, out-of-pocket expenditures of poor patients and ensure that its benefits reaches the grassroots."
The Romualdezes expressed hope that the signing into law of RA 11463 on Dec. 3, 2019 will fill the gaps in the delivery of health care services, especially for marginalized families unable to afford medical care. "This way, we can deliver basic services to communities in the most efficient, responsive, and sustainable manner."
The House leaders expect that the law "will also improve assessment for patients’ assistance and referrals to provide much needed system support for their condition."
"The law is a testament to President Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte’s commitment to make a comfortable life for Filipinos," they said.
RA 11463 seeks to establish Malasakit Centers in all hospitals run by the Department of Health (DOH) to complement the UHC Law or RA 11223. There are now 75 Malasakit Centers nationwide serving more than 160,000 patients.
Among the hospitals now offering the service are Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban, Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo, Ospital ng Palawan in Puerto Princesa, and Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his younger brother, Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano, led the launching of the center, which seeks to make quality health care more accessible and affordable for indigent and poor patients in need of medical assistance from the government. (I Love Taguig Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Diño graced the launch, where they handed over a P5 million check to the city government.
In a statement, the Taguig City government said the Malasakit Center in TPDH is among the 74 established nationwide, including 28 centers in hospitals operated by local government units.
"We continue with our commitment to serve our people with the Malasakit Center, a presidential mandate that has exemplified our very effort to make our services more responsive to the needs of Taguigeños," Mayor Cayetano said. "We always seek to deliver people-centered services, so we had no problem identifying with the center."
Speaker Cayetano said the Malasakit Center "comes from the heart" of Go, and he thanked the latter for gracing the event and making the center possible in Taguig.
Go, meanwhile, thanked the Cayetanos for their "loyalty to President Duterte and to the people."
Taguig Representative Lani Cayetano also attended the launch.
In a joint statement, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez, principal authors of Republic Act No. 11463 or the Malasakit Center Act, congratulated Cayetano and Go for launching another Malasakit Center.
"It rolls out the red carpet for the establishment of a one-stop shop across the country where indigent patients will have wider access to quality medical and primary health care services that would complement the implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) program," they said. "This will reduce, if not eliminate, out-of-pocket expenditures of poor patients and ensure that its benefits reaches the grassroots."
The Romualdezes expressed hope that the signing into law of RA 11463 on Dec. 3, 2019 will fill the gaps in the delivery of health care services, especially for marginalized families unable to afford medical care. "This way, we can deliver basic services to communities in the most efficient, responsive, and sustainable manner."
The House leaders expect that the law "will also improve assessment for patients’ assistance and referrals to provide much needed system support for their condition."
"The law is a testament to President Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte’s commitment to make a comfortable life for Filipinos," they said.
RA 11463 seeks to establish Malasakit Centers in all hospitals run by the Department of Health (DOH) to complement the UHC Law or RA 11223. There are now 75 Malasakit Centers nationwide serving more than 160,000 patients.
Among the hospitals now offering the service are Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center in Tacloban, Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo, Ospital ng Palawan in Puerto Princesa, and Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod.